Unemployment pulled back in March in Oswego County from near-historic highs, but not because more people found jobs.
Data from the state Labor Department shows the unemployment rate in Oswego County in March was 10.8%. That’s down from 11.5% in February but is a few tenths of a point higher than the jobless rate of a year ago.
54,000 county residents had jobs in March, the state estimates. That’s the same number as in February. The jobless rate fell, however, because the number of people listed as unemployed dropped from 7,100 to 6,500. You’re only listed as unemployed if you are without a job and you are looking for work. 600 people stopped looking for work between February and March.
Oswego County’s unemployment rate was the fourth highest in the state in March. New York City’s Kings County has the highest jobless rate in the state, at 13.3%.
Statewide, the jobless rate fell to 8.8% from 9.2% the month before.
“We continue to see improvement in the New York State economy. In March 2010, the state added private sector jobs for the third month in a row, while the state’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since June 2009,†said Peter A. Neenan, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Research and Statistics, in a news release.
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