CNY unemployment rates fall in May

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Binghamton, and Utica–Rome regions fell in May compared to both the previous month and the year-ago period.

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

The jobless rate in Syracuse was 7.4 percent in May, down from 7.6 percent in April and 8.5 percent in May 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome region decreased to 7.7 percent last month, from 8.2 percent in April and 8.7 percent in the year-ago period.

The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region fell to 7.5 percent in May, from 7.8 percent in April and 8.4 percent in May 2012, according to figures from the state Labor Department.

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 May include Lewis at 9.3 percent, Oswego and St. Lawrence at 9.2 percent, and Jefferson at 9.0 percent, according to the data. The county with the lowest unemployment rate is Tompkins at 5.1 percent.

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 104,200 between May 2012 and this past May. The state Labor Department last week reported the state’s unemployment rate at 7.6 percent in May, down from 7.8 percent in April, hitting its lowest level since February 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