Rochester Business Journal

The jobless rate in the Rochester metropolitan area climbed again in August, the state Department of Labor reported Tuesday.

The unemployment rate was 8.3 percent last month, up from 7.5 percent a year ago. The metro area includes Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans and Wayne counties.

Data in the report are not seasonally adjusted. The most valid comparison with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons of the same month, the Labor Department noted.

Statewide, the unemployment rate was 8.8 percent—not seasonally adjusted— up from 8.1 percent a year ago. Some 845,400 people were unemployed in New York in August, compared with 744,900 in August 2011.

The upstate jobless rate was 8.5 percent, up from 7.6 percent a year ago.

The number of unemployed in Rochester in August was 44,100, up from 39,000 a year ago. Some 485,700 people were employed here last month, compared with 483,100 in August 2011.

Last week, the Department of Labor reported an increase in the number of non-farm and private-sector jobs in Rochester.

Area unemployment rates, not seasonally adjusted, were:

•  Monroe County—8.5 percent, up from 7.6 percent a year ago;
• Genesee County—7.1 percent, compared with 6.5 percent in August 2011;
• Livingston County—7.6 percent, up from 6.8 percent in August 2011;
• Ontario County—6.9 percent, compared 6.3 percent a year ago;
• Orleans County—11.3 percent last month, up from 9 percent a year ago; and
• Wayne County—8.2 percent, compared with 7.4 percent a year ago.

Ontario County had the fourth lowest rate in the state; Orleans County had the second highest rate.

The jobless rate in Buffalo was 8.8 percent in August, compared with 7.7 percent in August 2011. The Syracuse-area unemployment rate was 8.6 percent last month, but up from 7.8 percent a year ago.

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