CNY unemployment rates fall to single digits in August

Most CNY regions lost thousands of jobs in last year                   

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, and Elmira regions dropped to single-digit figures in August but remained higher compared to a year ago amid the impact of layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released Sept. 22.

In addition, the Syracuse and Utica–Rome regions lost jobs in five-digit figures between August 2019 and this past August. 

At the same time, the Binghamton, Watertown–Fort Drum, and Ithaca areas lost jobs in four-digit figures in the same timeframe. The Elmira region’s job losses in the last 12 months totaled in the triple digits.

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Sept. 17.

Regional unemployment rates

The unemployment rate in the Syracuse area was 9.8 percent in August, up from 4.2 percent in August 2019.

The Utica–Rome region rose to 9.3 percent from 4.3 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s rate hit 9.2 percent, up from 5.1 percent; the Binghamton region’s number climbed to 9.4 percent from 4.6 percent; the Ithaca area’s jobless rate reached 7.2 percent, up from 4.0 percent; and the Elmira region’s number jumped to 9.6 percent from 4.3 percent a year ago.

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 hit 12.5 percent in August, down from 15.9 percent in July, but up sharply from 3.9 percent in August 2019.

The state’s August jobless rate was also much higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 8.4 percent in August. New York has been among the slowest states to recover from the economic problems caused by the restrictions made to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to WalletHub. New York has the third highest jobless rate in the nation.

In August, the number of unemployed New York State residents decreased by 339,000, while labor-force levels decreased by 86,700.

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.

August jobs data

The Syracuse region lost more than 38,000 jobs in the past year, a drop of 11.8 percent.

The Utica–Rome metro area lost more than 13,000 jobs, down 10.4 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region shed 6,000 positions, a decrease of 14 percent; the Binghamton area lost 7,400 jobs, off 7 percent; the Ithaca region dropped 2,300 jobs, a decrease of about 3.8 percent; and the Elmira area shed 300 jobs, off 0.8 percent.

New York state as a whole lost nearly 1.2 million jobs, a decrease of 12.2 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy gained more than 153,000 jobs, a 1.8 percent increase, in the last month, the labor department said.