The New York State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for December 2013, which are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate relies in part on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than 7 million) in New York State.

The state’s private sector job count increased by 109,900 from December 2012 to December 2013. As reported last week, the state’s unemployment rate was 7.1% in December 2013. The economy added 10,400 private sector jobs in December 2013, bringing the state’s job count to a record high of 7,503,700.

The data in the preceding table are not seasonally adjusted, which means they reflect seasonal influences (e.g., holiday and summer hires). Therefore, the most valid comparisons with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons of the same month; for example, December 2012 versus December 2013.

Unemployment rate highlights in December 2013:

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are the most up-to-date estimates of persons employed and unemployed by place of residence. Estimates are available for New York State, labor market regions, metropolitan areas, counties, and municipalities of at least 25,000.

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