Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in February compared to a year ago. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released March 26. The Syracuse, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira areas gained jobs between February 2018 and this past February. Bucking the […]
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions declined in February compared to a year ago.
The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor data released March 26.
The Syracuse, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira areas gained jobs between February 2018 and this past February.
Bucking the trend, the Utica–Rome region lost jobs in the same period, while the Watertown–Fort Drum metro area’s jobs data was unchanged.
That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued March 21.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area fell to 4.6 percent in February from 5.8 percent in February 2018.
The Utica–Rome region’s rate was 4.9 percent in February, down from 6.1 percent a year prior; the Watertown–Fort Drum area had a 6.6 percent jobless rate, off from 8.3 percent; the Binghamton region posted 5.1 percent, down from 6.5 percent; the Ithaca area had a 3.6 percent unemployment rate, down from 4.5 percent; and the Elmira region came in at 4.5 percent, compared to 6.2 percent in the year-earlier period.
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.
February jobs data
The Syracuse region gained 6,500 jobs in the past year, up 2.1 percent.
The Utica–Rome area lost 300 jobs in the past year, a decrease of 0.2 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum region posted no change in jobs in the past year, per the labor-department data; the Elmira area gained 100 jobs, an increase of 0.3 percent; the Binghamton region gained 500 jobs, an increase of 0.5 percent; and the Ithaca area gained 1,100 positions, up 1.7 percent in the past year.
New York state as a whole gained more than 94,000 jobs in the past year, an increase of 1 percent, the labor department said.