State jobless rate flat despite upstate slide

ALBANY, N.Y. » The statewide unemployment rate was unchanged from November 2016 to November 2017, according to the latest monthly report from the state Department of Labor, but the news for the Capital Region and upstate New York in general was not as good.

While the year-to-year jobless rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent, the only one of the state’s 15 demographic regions to see anything better than a 0.3 percent year-toyear increase was New York City, where the rate dove from 4.7 percent in November 2016 to 4 percent this November. The Capital Region’s jobless rate climbed from 3.8 to 4.3 percent over the same time period.

Only one county outside New York City, Lewis County in Central New York, saw its jobless rate dip, going from 6.1 to 5.9 percent, while two other Central New York counties, Seneca and Clinton, had unchanged rates at 4.4 and 5 percent, respectively. Rensselaer County saw its unemployment rate climb from 3.9 to 4.4 percent, while the Albany County rate climbed from 3.8 to 4.2 percent and Saratoga County saw its rate rise from 3.5 to 4 percent.

According to the Department of Labor, the state as a whole added about 142,000 jobs over the past year, but 141,000 of those jobs were gained

in New York City. The Capital Region — which also includes Schenectady and Schoharie counties in Department of Labor studies — actually lost about 200 jobs over that same period.