State unemployment rate in May drops to lowest level in more than four years

New York’s unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in May from 7.8 percent in April, hitting its lowest level since February 2009. That’s according to preliminary figures the New York State Department of Labor released today.

 

The number of unemployed residents statewide declined by 18,300 to 729,800, the department reported.

 

The unemployment rate in the state, outside of New York City, fell from 7.4 percent in April to 7.1 percent in May, according to the Department of Labor data. New York City’s rate dipped to 8.3 percent in May from 8.4 percent the month before.

 

New York employers added 5,000 private-sector jobs in May, a growth rate of 0.1 percent, according to the state Labor Department’s preliminary figures.

 

The added positions raised New York’s private-sector job count to more than 7,449,000, the department said.

 

New York reported a net gain of 85,700 total nonfarm jobs between May 2012 and May 2013, a gain of 1 percent. The state gained more than 104,000 private-sector jobs in the same 12-month period, an increase of 1.4 percent, according to the Labor Department.

 

Professional and business services added the most jobs statewide, 40,400, over the last year. Second was leisure and hospitality, adding 26,300 positions.

 

Positions in the educational and health-services sector were third on the list, adding 25,500 positions.

 

The government sector lost the most jobs statewide, 18,500, in the last year, with manufacturing second with a loss of 13,300 positions.

 

The Syracuse area generated a net gain of 3,600 total nonfarm jobs between May 2012 and this past May, an increase of 1.1 percent, according to the Labor Department data. The region gained 3,400 private-sector jobs in the same period, a rise of 1.3 percent.

 

The Ithaca area added 600 total nonfarm jobs year-over-year, an increase of 0.9 percent. Ithaca’s private-sector employers added 500 jobs between May 2012 and May 2013, also an increase of 0.9 percent.

 

In the Utica–Rome region, the state figures indicate a year-over-year net gain of 300 total nonfarm jobs, or 0.2 percent. But the area gained 1,100 private-sector jobs, a 1.1 percent increase, in the same 12-month time period.

 

The Binghamton area saw a year-over-year net decline of 1,100 nonfarm jobs, or a 1 percent decrease. The region’s private-sector employers cut 100 jobs, a decrease of 0.1 percent between May 2012 and this past May.

 

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