State Labor Department Releases Preliminary December 2020 Area Unemployment Rates

 

The New York State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for December 2020. Rates are calculated using methods prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The State’s area unemployment rates rely in part on the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month. To recap last week’s statewide press release, New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 8.4% in November to 8.2% in December 2020

Local Area Unemployment Rates* (%)  
December 2019 and December 2020 
(not seasonally adjusted) 

*Data are preliminary and subject to change.
	December   2020*	December   2019
Metro Areas	8.3	3.6
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	5.3	3.7
Binghamton	6.2	4.9
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	7.5	4.7
Dutchess-Putnam	5.3	3.7
Elmira	6.7	4.5
Glens Falls	5.9	5.1
Ithaca	4.3	3.3
Kingston	5.4	3.8
Nassau-Suffolk	5.5	3.6
New York City	11.0	3.1
Orange-Rockland-Westchester	5.9	3.8
Rochester	6.5	4.4
Syracuse	6.4	4.5
Utica-Rome	6.4	4.7
Watertown-Fort Drum	6.3	6.9
Non-metro counties	6.1	5.1

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, December 2019 versus December 2020

Bronx unemployment is 15.1% Highest un New York State.

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

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