CNY unemployment rates decline in April

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Binghamton, and Utica–Rome regions fell last month, compared to a year ago.

The New York State Labor Department on May 21 issued the preliminary local-area unemployment rates for April 2013.

The jobless rate in Syracuse was 7.7 percent, down from 8.2 percent in April 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome region decreased to 8.2 percent in April, from 8.4 percent in the same month a year ago.

The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region fell to 7.8 percent, from 8.2 percent, according to figures from the state Labor Department.

In comparison, the unemployment rate in the Albany region fell to 6.5 percent in April, from 7.2 percent a year ago. In Rochester, the rate declined to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent 12 months earlier. And in the Buffalo region, the jobless rate dipped to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent a year prior.

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

The New York counties with among the highest unemployment rates include Lewis at 10.9 percent and Jefferson at 10.3 percent, according to the data. The county with the lowest unemployment rate is Tompkins at 4.8 percent. The jobless rate there fell from 5.4 percent a year ago.

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

The state’s private-sector job count rose by 137,500 between April 2012 and this past April. The state Labor Department on May 16 reported the state’s unemployment rate at 7.8 percent in April, down from 8.2 percent in March, hitting its lowest level since March 2009.

The unemployment rate as determined by the federal government is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than seven million) in New York.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com