State unemployment rate dips to 6.6 percent in June, CNY jobs picture is mixed

New York state’s unemployment rate declined to 6.6 percent in June from 6.7 percent in May, reaching its lowest level since November 2008.

The Empire State economy added 25,000 private-sector jobs in June, the New York State Department of Labor reported in a news release today.

The latest monthly employment gain raised New York’s private-sector job count to 7,589,600, which the state calls “an all-time high.”

The preliminary June unemployment rate of 6.6 percent for New York is down from the 7.8 percent rate posted in June 2013, according to the department.

CNY job numbers
The job-growth picture is mixed in Central New York. The Syracuse metro area lost 2,200 jobs between June 2013 and this past June, a decrease of 0.7 percent, according to the state data. The region also lost 2,100 private-sector jobs in the same period, a decline of 0.8 percent.

The Ithaca region gained 400 total jobs year-over-year, an increase of 0.6 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers also added 400 jobs between June 2013 and this past June, an increase of 0.7 percent.

In the Utica–Rome metro area, the state figures indicate a year-over-year net gain of 600 total jobs, or 0.5 percent. The region gained 900 private-sector jobs, a 0.9 percent increase, in the same 12-month period.

The Binghamton area’s overall job count remained unchanged year-over-year, according to the data. In the same period, the region’s private-sector employers gained 300 jobs, an increase of 0.4 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 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com