CNY, state unemployment rates soar in April amid pandemic

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions jumped in April compared to a year ago, due in large part to the layoffs from the coronavirus shutdowns of many businesses.

The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released May 27.

The Syracuse, Utica–Rome, and Binghamton regions lost jobs in five-digit figures between April 2019 and this past April. The Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, and Elmira areas shed jobs in four-digit figures in the same period.

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued May 21.

Regional unemployment rates

The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 16.3 percent in April, up from 3.8 percent in April 2019.

The Utica–Rome region’s unemployment rate rose to 15.1 percent from 4.1 percent a year prior; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s rate soared to 16.9 percent from 5.4 percent; the Binghamton region’s number hit 15 percent, up from 4.2 percent; the Ithaca area’s rate jumped to 10.1 percent from 3.2 percent; and the Elmira region’s jobless number climbed to 15.9 percent from 3.8 percent.

The local-unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires.

The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.

State unemployment rate

New York state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 4.1 percent in March to 14.5 percent in April. This change (+10.4 percentage points) was the state’s largest recorded monthly increase since current record keeping began in 1976. 

In addition, the number of unemployed New York State residents increased by 931,600, while the labor force dropped by 307,600 — “both monthly records,” per the state Labor Department. 

The 14.5 percent unemployment rate was lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 14.7 percent in April.

The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 state households that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.

April jobs data

The Syracuse region lost 60,000 jobs in the past year, a decline of 18.7 percent.

The Utica–Rome metro area shed 22,300 jobs in the past 12 months, a decrease of 17.3 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region lost 6,300 jobs, a drop of 15.4 percent; the Binghamton area lost 14,600 jobs, a decrease of 14 percent; the Ithaca region shed 9,500 jobs, a drop of 14.4 percent; and the Elmira area lost 4,800 jobs, a decrease of 13 percent. 

New York state as a whole lost nearly 1.9 million jobs, a decrease of 19.4 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy lost more than 1.8 million jobs, an 18.8 percent drop, between March and April of this year, the labor department said.