Syracuse again leads state in year-over-year job losses in December

The Syracuse region lost 1,800 total jobs between December 2013 and this past December, representing the highest figure of year-over-year job losses in December among the state’s metro areas.

The job-loss figure represents a decline of 0.6 percent.

That’s according to the latest monthly employment report that the New York State Department of Labor issued Thursday.

It continues a trend of Syracuse leading the state’s metro areas with year-over-year job losses, dating back to at least June, according to data from the state Labor Department.

The Utica–Rome region also lost jobs between December 2013 and this past December, while the Binghamton and Ithaca regions posted year-over-year job gains.

The Utica–Rome region shed 200 positions in the same period, a decline of 0.2 percent.

The Binghamton region gained 500 jobs in the same 12-month time span, representing an increase of 0.5 percent, according to the state Labor Department data.

The Ithaca region gained 1,200 positions between December 2013 and this December, an increase of 1.7 percent.

New York state as a whole gained 105,200 jobs, an increase of 1.2 percent, in the last year. The state economy gained 30,400 jobs in the last month, according to the report.

Private-sector jobs

The Syracuse region lost 1,700 private-sector jobs between December 2013 and this past December, a decline of 0.7 percent. The Utica–Rome area added 100 private-sector positions, a gain of 0.1 percent.

The Binghamton region gained 600 private-sector jobs, an increase of 0.7 percent, in the last year, according to the report.

The Ithaca area added 1,100 private-sector positions between December 2013 and this past December, a rise of 1.8 percent.

New York state’s economy added more than 114,000 private-sector jobs, a 1.5 percent gain, in the last 12 months, with more than 80 percent of those positions located Downstate.

The state also gained more than 30,000 private-sector jobs, a 0.4 percent increase, in the last month, the state Labor Department reported.

The gains increased the state’s overall private-sector job count to 7,638,200 positions, which represents a “new all-time high,” according to the state Labor Department.

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.

New York state’s unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in December from 5.9 percent in November and 7 percent in December 2013.

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.