Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton regions each shed more than 1,000 jobs in last year

The Syracuse, Utica–Rome, and Binghamton regions lost jobs in the past 12 months, while the Watertown–Fort Drum, and Ithaca regions added jobs in the same period.

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

The Syracuse region lost 1,200 jobs between December 2015 and this past December, a decrease of 0.4 percent.

The Utica–Rome metro region lost 1,800 jobs, a 1.4 percent decline, in the same period.

The Binghamton region lost 1,500 jobs, a 1.4 percent drop, in the past 12 months.

The Watertown–Fort Drum region added 200 jobs between December 2015 and this past December, an increase of 0.5 percent.

The Ithaca region gained 2,100 jobs in the same 12-month period, an increase of 2.9 percent.

New York state as a whole gained more than 102,000 jobs, an increase of 1.1 percent, in the last year. The state economy added 9,900 jobs, or 0.1 percent, in the last month, the labor department said.

Private-sector jobs

The Syracuse region lost 1,100 private-sector jobs between December 2015 and this past December, a decrease of 0.4 percent, according to the state Labor Department data.

The Utica–Rome area shed 1,500 private-sector positions, a decrease of 1.5 percent in the last 12 months.

The Binghamton area lost 1,300 private-sector positions between December 2015 and this past December, a drop of 1.6 percent.

The Watertown-Fort Drum region gained 200 private-sector positions, an increase of 0.7 percent in the last 12 months.

The Ithaca area gained 2,300 private-sector positions between December 2015 and this past December, a rise of 3.7 percent.

New York state’s economy added more than 98,000 private-sector jobs, a 1.2 percent increase in the last 12 months, with most of those positions located Downstate.

The state also added 9,000 private-sector jobs, a 0.1 percent increase, between November and December, the state Labor Department reported.

New York’s private-sector job count increased to 7,963,900 in December, “a new record high,” it added.

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 4.9 percent in December from 5.1 percent in November, the department said in its news release. The 4.9 percent unemployment rate was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in November.

The December figure of 4.9 percent was lower than the 5.0 figure reported in December 2015, according to department figures.

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