State unemployment rate dips to 6.8 percent in January

New York’s unemployment rate declined to 6.8 percent in January from 7 percent in December, hitting 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 5,400 private-sector jobs in January, the department said in a news release.

The preliminary January unemployment rate of 6.8 percent for New York is down from the 8.1 percent rate posted in January 2013, according to the data.

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

The revised labor-force data indicate that New York’s annual average-unemployment rate fell from 8.5 percent in 2012 to 7.7 percent in 2013, the New York Labor Department said.

CNY job numbers

The Syracuse metro area generated a net gain of 700 jobs between January 2013 and this past January, an increase of 0.2 percent, according to the state data. The region picked up 600 private-sector jobs in the same period, a rise of 0.2 percent.

The Ithaca region gained 100 total jobs year-over-year, an increase of 0.2 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers added 200 jobs between January 2013 and January 2014, an increase of 0.4 percent.

In the Utica–Rome metro area, the state figures indicate a year-over-year net gain of 300 total jobs, or 0.2 percent. The region gained 500 private-sector jobs, a 0.5 percent increase, in the same 12-month period.

The Binghamton area generated a year-over-year net decline of 1,700 total jobs, or a 1.6 percent decrease. In the same period, the region’s private-sector employers lost 700 jobs, a decline of 0.9 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