New York’s unemployment rate holds at 6.8 percent in February

New York state’s unemployment rate stayed steady at 6.8 percent in February, holding at its lowest level since December 2008.

That’s according to preliminary figures the New York State Department of Labor released today.

The Empire State economy added 12,800 private-sector jobs in February, the department said in a news release.

The preliminary February unemployment rate of 6.8 percent for New York is down from the 8.0 percent rate posted in February 2013, according to the department.

Labor-force data, including unemployment rates, are also revised at the end of each year, using methods that the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) establishes. 

CNY job numbers
The Syracuse metro area lost 100 jobs between February 2013 and this past February, according to the state data. The region’s private-sector job count remained steady in the same period.

The Ithaca region lost 500 total jobs year-over-year, a decrease of 0.7 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers also employed 500 fewer people in February 2014 than in February 2013, a decline of 0.8 percent.

In the Utica–Rome metro area, the state figures indicate the number of total jobs and private-sector jobs remained unchanged year-over-year.

The Binghamton region generated a year-over-year net decline of 600 total jobs, or a 0.6 percent dip. In the same period, the region’s private-sector employers lost 500 jobs, also a fall of 0.6 percent.

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.

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 BLS conducts.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com