CNY unemployment rates stayed steady in February

With only minimal variations, the unemployment rates for February fell slightly in the Syracuse area, inched up in the Utica–Rome region, and remained the same in the Binghamton area compared to a year ago.

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

The jobless rate in Syracuse was 9.4 percent, down from 9.5 percent in February 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome region increased to 9.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent in the same month a year ago.

The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region remained the same at 9.6 percent, 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 include Lewis at 13 percent and Oswego at 12.2 percent, according to the figures. The counties with the lowest rates include Tompkins at 5.8 percent.

The state’s private-sector job count increased by 81,500 between February 2012 and February 2013. The state Labor Department last week reported the state’s unemployment rate at 8.4 percent in February, unchanged from January’s level, but down from 8.5 percent in February 2012.

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.

The state Labor Department on March 28 released final private-sector job-count numbers for January 2013 and preliminary February 2013 job-count and unemployment rates as provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.

New York state had a total net decline of 900 nonfarm jobs (a combination of private sector and government jobs) between January and February, and a month-to-month net decline of 7,700 private-sector jobs, representing a decline of 0.1 percent.

The Syracuse area saw a net gain of 800 nonfarm jobs between February 2012 and this past February, representing a gain of 0.3 percent, according to the Labor Department. The region also gained 500 private-sector jobs in the same time period, a gain of 0.2 percent.

In the Utica–Rome region, the figures indicate a year-over-year net decline of 300 nonfarm jobs, or 0.2 percent. But it gained 500 private-sector jobs, or  0.5 percent, in the same 12-month time period.

The Binghamton region saw a year-over-year net decline of 600 nonfarm jobs, or 0.6 percent, and a net gain of 200 private-sector jobs, or 0.2 percent.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com