State unemployment rate dips slightly in June to 7.5 percent

New York state’s unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent in June to 7.5 percent, the lowest level since February 2009, according to preliminary figures the New York State Department of Labor released today.

 

The state’s unemployment rate is now below the national rate of 7.6 percent, the department said in a news release.

 

In areas of the state outside of New York City, which includes all of Upstate and Long Island, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1 percent to 6.9 percent, the lowest in more than four years.

 

The number of unemployed residents statewide declined by 8,500 to 720,900, the Department of Labor reported.

 

However, New York’s private-sector job count fell by 6,800, a decline of 0.1 percent, to 7,444,600 in June from May, according to the state Labor Department.

 

On a year-over-year basis, New York reported a net gain of 93,800 total jobs between June 2012 and June 2013, a gain of 1 percent. The state gained more than 110,000 private-sector jobs in the same 12-month period, an increase of 1.5 percent, according to the Labor Department.

 

Educational and health services added the most jobs statewide, 37,200, over the last year. Professional and business-service sector was second in the category, adding 35,900 positions.

 

Positions in the leisure and hospitality sector were third on the list, adding 27,100 positions.

 

The government and manufacturing sectors each lost the most jobs statewide, 16,700 per sector, in the last year.

 

 

CNY regional data

 

The Syracuse area generated a net gain of 3,100 total nonfarm jobs between June 2012 and this past June, an increase of 1 percent, according to the Labor Department data. The region gained 2,900 private-sector jobs in the same period, a rise of 1.1 percent.

 

The Ithaca region added 100 total nonfarm jobs year-over-year, an increase of 0.2 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers added 200 jobs between June 2012 and June 2013, also an increase of 0.4 percent.

 

In the Utica–Rome metro area, the state figures indicate a year-over-year net loss of 400 total nonfarm jobs, or 0.3 percent. But the region gained 300 private-sector jobs, a 0.3 percent increase, in the same 12-month period.

 

The Binghamton area saw a year-over-year net decline of 400 nonfarm jobs, or a 0.4 percent decrease. In the same time period, the region’s private-sector employers added 400 jobs, an increase of 0.5 percent between last June and this past June.

 

The state Labor Department has also made some revisions to the job figures for May, noting that monthly employment estimates are preliminary and are subject to revision as more information becomes available the following month.

 

The department has revised upward by 1,700 the figure for total nonfarm employment for May 2013. As a result, the April-May change in nonfarm jobs went from a loss of 200 jobs to a gain of 1,500 positions.

 

In addition, the department also revised upward the private-sector employment estimate for May by the same figure. As a result, the April-May change in private-sector jobs shifted from plus 5,000 to plus 6,700.

 

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

 

 

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com