Rochester Business Journal

The jobless rate in the Rochester metropolitan region rose in September, the state Department of Labor reported Tuesday. All the counties in the region saw an uptick compared with a year ago.

The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent last month, up from 7.6 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. The rate was 8.3 percent in August.

The number of unemployed in Rochester in September was 41,900, compared with 44,000 in August and 39,300 a year ago. Some 485,900 people were employed in the Rochester region last month, compared with 485,300 in August and 479,800 a year ago.

Area unemployment rates for September, not seasonally adjusted, were:

•    Monroe County—8.1 percent, down from 8.5 percent in August, but up from 7.8 percent a year ago;
•    Genesee County—7.1 percent, unchanged from August, but up from 6.9 percent in September 2011;
•    Livingston County—7.1 percent, compared with 7.6 percent in August and 6.8 percent a year ago;
•    Ontario County—6.7 percent, compared with 6.8 percent in August and 6.5 percent in September 2011;
•    Orleans County—9.9 percent, down from 11.3 percent in August, but up from 8.2 percent a year ago; and
•    Wayne County—7.8 percent, compared with 8.1 percent in August and 7.2 percent a year ago.

Ontario County had the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in New York.

Statewide, the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, down from 8.8 percent in August, but unchanged from a year ago, not seasonally adjusted. Some 783,500 people were unemployed in New York last month, down from 844,500 in August, but up from 773,600 in September 2011.

The jobless rate in Buffalo-Niagara Falls was 8.4 percent last month, down from 8.8 percent in August, but up from 7.7 percent a year ago. The Syracuse area unemployment rate was 8.4 percent last month, compared with 8.6 percent in August and 8.1 percent in September 2011.

Last week, the Labor Department reported an increase in the number of non-farm and private-sector jobs in Rochester. The area ranked second among upstate regions in terms of job-growth percentage in September.

(c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.