The State Labor Department today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for October 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 112,700 from October 2012 to October 2013. As reported last week, the state’s unemployment rate was 7.7% in October 2013. The economy added 9,000 private sector jobs in October 2013 and 24,800 in September 2013, bringing the state’s job count to a record high of 7,490,100.

The data in the table above 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, October 2012 versus October 2013. Statistics for September 2013, which were postponed because the recent federal government shutdown, can be found on the Department of Labor website.

Unemployment rate highlights in October 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.

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)