CNY unemployment rates fall by average of 1 percent in last year

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Binghamton, Utica–Rome, and Ithaca metro areas fell by an average of one percentage point in August when compared to a year ago, according to the latest New York State Department of Labor data.

The jobless rate in Syracuse was 7.3 percent in August, unchanged from July, but down from 8.3 percent in August 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome region was 7.3 percent in August, unchanged from July, but down from 8.2 percent in the year-ago period.

The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region was 7.5 percent in August, down from 7.6 percent in July and off from 8.7 percent in August 2012, according to figures from the state Labor Department.

The jobless rate in the Ithaca area came in at 5.6 percent in August, unchanged from July, but below the 6.4 percent rate posted in August 2012, the state Labor Department said.

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

The New York counties with the highest unemployment rates in August include St. Lawrence at 9.1 percent and Oswego at 8.8 percent. Bronx County had the state’s highest jobless rate in August at 12 percent. Kings County was also among the areas with the highest rates at 9.6 percent.

At 5.6 percent, Tompkins County turned in the fourth lowest unemployment rate during August behind Hamilton County at 4.2 percent and Saratoga and Yates counties, each with a jobless rate of 5.4 percent, the state Labor Department said.

The unemployment 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 126,800 between August 2012 and this past August. The New York Labor Department last week reported the state’s unemployment rate at 7.6 percent in August.

The New York economy also added 22,700 private-sector jobs last month, bringing the state’s job count to a “record high,” according to the state Labor Department.

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