June 24, 2014

State Labor Department Releases Preliminary May 2014 Area Unemployment Rates

The New York State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for May 2014. Rates 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 the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

The state’s private sector job count increased by 106,500 from May 2013 to May 2014. As reported last week, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May 2014 was unchanged at 6.7%, remaining at its lowest level since December 2008. In May 2014, the number of private sector jobs in the state was 7,568,600, an all-time high, marking the 18th consecutive monthly gain in private sector jobs.

Local Area Unemployment Rates* (%),
May 2013 and May 2014
(not seasonally adjusted)

*Data are preliminary and subject to change
	May 2014*	May 2013
Upstate NY (52-co. area)	5.9	7.2
Metro Areas	5.7	7.0
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	5.1	6.3
Binghamton	6.3	7.5
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	6.0	7.3
Elmira	6.5	8.2
Glens Falls	5.7	6.8
Ithaca	4.1	4.9
Kingston	6.0	7.7
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown	5.5	7.0
Rochester	5.8	7.0
Syracuse	6.1	7.4
Utica-Rome	6.2	7.7
Non-metro Counties	6.4	7.8

Downstate NY (10-co. area)	6.8	7.7
New York City	7.7	8.6
Suburban Counties	4.9	6.1
Nassau-Suffolk	4.9	6.1
Putnam-Rockland-Westchester	5.0	6.1

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, May 2013 versus May 2014.

Unemployment rate highlights in May 2014:

The counties in New York State with the lowest unemployment rates include:
- Tompkins County (4.1%)
- Saratoga County (4.6%)
- Yates County (4.6%)
- Putnam County (4.7%)
- Columbia County (4.8%)
- Nassau County (4.8%)
- Rockland County (4.8%)
- Albany County (5.0%)
- Genesee County (5.0%)
- Suffolk County (5.0%)

See County Unemployment rates (opens in new window) for current monthly unemployment rates for all 62 counties in New York State.

Labor force data for the current month are preliminary and subject to revision as more information becomes available the following month. Revised estimates for prior months are available at: http://labor.ny.gov/stats/LSLAUS.shtm

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 with population of at least 25,000.

See State and Area Unemployment Rates (opens in new window)
See Unemployment Rate Map (opens in new window)
See Jobs and Unemployment Fact Sheet (opens in new window)

###

This is a message from NYS