CNY unemployment rates were mixed to begin 2020

Syracuse gained but most regions lost jobs in past year     

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, and Ithaca regions fell in January compared to a year ago.

At the same time, the jobless rates in the Watertown–Fort Drum and Elmira areas rose compared to January 2019. The rate in the Binghamton region remained unchanged. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released March 17. 

On the job-growth front, the Syracuse area gained jobs between January 2019 and this past January. 

At the same time, the Utica–Rome, Binghamton, Watertown–Fort Drum, Ithaca, and Elmira regions lost jobs in the same period. That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued March 12.

Both the unemployment rate and job-growth numbers reflect conditions before the coronavirus pandemic slammed the New York and nationwide economies.

Regional unemployment rates

The jobless rate in the Syracuse area was 4.9 percent in January, down from 5 percent in January 2019.

The Utica–Rome region’s rate fell to 5.2 percent, from 5.4 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s number increased to 7.5 percent from 7.1 percent; the Binghamton region was unchanged at 5.6 percent unemployment; the Ithaca area’s jobless rate fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent; and the Elmira region’s rate increased to 5 percent from 4.7 percent in the same month 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 were calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.

State unemployment rate

New York state’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in January, “a new record monthly low,” the department said, down from 3.9 percent in December and 4 percent in January 2019. 

The federal government calculates New York’s jobless 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.

January jobs data

The Syracuse region gained 1,900 jobs from January 2019 to January 2020, a 0.6 percent rise.

The Utica–Rome metro area lost 1,300 jobs, a decrease of 0.1 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area shed 100 jobs, a 0.3 percent dip; the Binghamton region lost 400 jobs, a decrease of 0.4 percent; the Ithaca area lost 200 jobs, a decrease of 0.3 percent; and the Elmira region shed 500 jobs, a decline of 1.4 percent, per state Labor Department data.

New York state as a whole gained nearly 85,000 jobs, an increase of 0.9 percent, in that 12-month period. The state economy gained nearly 34,000 jobs, a 0.3 percent rise, from December 2019 to January 2020, the labor department said.