Job growth continued statewide and in upstate New York in May, albeit at a modest pace.
The state added 6,100 private sector jobs during the month, an increase of 0.1 percent from April, according to data released today by the state Labor Department. The state’s unemployment rate rose to 8.6 percent in May from 8.5 percent in April and 8.1 percent in May 2011 as more job seekers entered the labor force, the department said.
“The latest statistics show that New York’s private sector employers continued to add jobs, while over 28,000 jobseekers re-entered the labor force,” Bohdan Wynnyk, deputy director of the department’s Division of Research and Statistics, said in a news release. “As the economy continues to improve, more people tend to enter the labor force. As a result, the increase in the number of job seekers pushed up the state’s jobless rate in May.”
The national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in May, up from 8.1 percent in April and 9 percent a year earlier.
The Syracuse metro area between April and May added 2,100 nonfarm jobs, which includes government and private sector positions. That’s an increase of 0.7 percent.
The Utica Rome area added 2,600 nonfarm jobs, up 2 percent, and the Binghamton area added 900 nonfarm jobs in May, an increase of 0.8 percent from April.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com