State unemployment rate falls to 7.4 percent in November

New York’s unemployment rate declined to 7.4 percent in November, from 7.7 percent in October, hitting its lowest level since January 2009.

That’s according to preliminary figures the New York State Department of Labor released Thursday.

The Empire State’s economy added 4,300 private-sector jobs in November, raising New York’s private-sector job count to more than 7,493,000, representing “another all-time high,” the department said in a news release.

The preliminary November unemployment rate of 7.4 percent for New York is down from the 8.2 percent rate in November 2012, according to the state Labor Department data.

In areas of the state outside of New York City, which includes all of upstate and Long Island, the unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent in November, down from 7.8 percent in November 2012, according to the department’s data.

Educational and health services added the most jobs statewide, more than 61,000, over the last year. The leisure and hospitality sector was second in the category, adding more than 34,000 positions, according to the state Labor Department. 

Positions in the trade, transportation, and utilities leisure and hospitality sector were third on the list, adding more than 27,000 jobs. The professional and business-services sector followed, adding nearly 19,000 jobs.

The government sector led the way in job losses in November, declining by more than 13,000, in the last year, according to the state Labor Department.

CNY regional data

The Syracuse metro area generated a net gain of 2,300 total jobs between November 2012 and this November, an increase of 0.7 percent, according to the state data. The region picked up 2,300 private-sector jobs in the same period, a rise of 1 percent.

The Ithaca region added 800 total jobs year-over-year, an increase of 1.1 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers added 700 jobs between November 2012 and November 2013, a rise of 1.2 percent.

In the Utica–Rome metro area, the state figures indicate a year-over-year net gain of 900 total jobs, or 0.7 percent. The region also gained 1,400 private-sector jobs, a 1.5 percent increase, in the same 12-month period.

The Binghamton area saw a year-over-year net decline of 700 total jobs, or a 0.6 percent decrease. In the same time period, the region’s private-sector employers cut 200 jobs, a decrease of 0.2 percent between last November and this past November.

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 state Labor Department said.

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, the department added.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com