Unemployment Above 10% Again In County

by Contributor | January 22, 2010 9:20 am

For the fifth time in 2009, the county’s unemployment rate crossed 10%.

Figures released by the state Labor Department Thursday show that Oswego County’s jobless rate soared to 10.6% in December, up 1.3 percentage points from the month before.

The number of people listed as employed fell by 200 during the month, while the number of people listed as unemployed rose by 800, a double whammy that powered the strong rise.

The sharp rise provided an unfortunate bookend to what will go down as one of the worst years for employment in the county in 20 years.  Only twice — in 1991 and 1992 — was unemployment higher than the 2009 average of 9.75%.  Five of 12 months in 2009 saw unemployment rise above 10%, with February’s 11.5% among the 5 worst months in the last 20 years.

Statewide, the jobless rate rose 4 tenths of a point to 9%, a 26 year high, the state said.  In the three-county Syracuse area, which includes Oswego County, unemployment rose to 8.2% from 7.8%.  The state has lost more than 168,000 non-farm jobs in the last year.

Oswego County’s December jobless rate was the second highest among all upstate counties and the fourth highest in the state.

The Labor Department reported that every sector of employment recorded job losses, except for educational services, which saw strong growth.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/unemployment-above-10-again-in-county/

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