Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all increased in July compared to a year ago, a sign of some softening in the labor market. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) data released on Aug. 20. Regional unemployment rates The jobless rate […]
Unemployment rates in the
Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions all increased in July compared to a year ago, a sign of some softening in the labor market. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) data released on Aug. 20.
Regional unemployment rates
The jobless rate in the Syracuse area rose to 4.1 percent in July from 3.5 percent in July 2023. Around the 16-county Central New York area, the Utica–Rome region unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 3.6 percent; the Watertown–Fort Drum area’s number hit 4.4 percent, up from 3.9 percent; the Binghamton region’s jobless number increased to 4.4 percent from 3.7 percent; the Ithaca metro area posted a 3.9 percent unemployment rate, up from 3.3 percent; and the Elmira region’s rate rose to 4.4 percent in July from 4.0 percent in the same month a year ago. The local-unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires. The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said. Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in July from 4.1 percent a year prior. New York’s current jobless rate was the same as the U.S. rate of 4.3 percent in July. 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.