Latest state jobs report shows mixed CNY job growth

The Syracuse and Utica–Rome regions gained jobs in the past 12 months, while the Ithaca and Binghamton regions lost positions in the same period.

The Watertown–Fort Drum region lost as many jobs as it gained in the past year.

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

The Syracuse region gained 3,600 jobs between December 2014 and this past December, an increase of 1.1 percent.

The Utica–Rome metro region added 1,300 jobs, a 1 percent rise, in the last year.

The Binghamton region lost 1,800 jobs between December 2014 and this past December, a decrease of 1.7 percent.

The Ithaca region lost 1,000 jobs in the same 12-month period, a drop of 1.4 percent.

New York state as a whole gained more than 160,000 jobs, an increase of 1.7 percent, in the last year. The state economy added 12,400 jobs between November and December, an increase of 0.1 percent, according to the report.

Private-sector jobs
The private-sector job gain of 3,900 in the Syracuse region in the past year represents an increase of 1.5 percent, according to the state Labor Department data.

The Utica–Rome area added 1,500 private-sector positions, a rise of 1.6 percent.

The Watertown-Fort Drum region lost as many private-sector jobs as it gained in the last 12 months, according to the report.

The Ithaca area shed 1,000 private-sector positions between December 2014 and this past December, a decrease of 1.6 percent.

The Binghamton region lost 1,900 private-sector jobs, a drop of 2.3 percent.

New York state’s economy added more than 164,000 private-sector jobs, a 2.1 percent gain, in the last 12 months, with most of those positions located Downstate.

The state also gained more than 13,000 private-sector jobs, a 0.2 percent increase, in just the last month, the state Labor Department reported.

The job gains increased the state’s overall private-sector job count to 7,880,000 positions, a “new record high,” according to preliminary figures that the state Labor Department released.

The state’s private-sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York state employers that the U.S. Department of Labor conducts.

New York state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8 percent in December, “its lowest level since November 2007,” the department said. It also remains below the national unemployment rate of 5 percent in December.

The December figure of 4.8 percent is also down from 5.8 percent in December 2014.

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.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com