Job losses continue in Utica and across NY

The Central New York Business Journal reported that New York and Upstate continued to lose jobs in March, with the Syracuse, Utica, and Binghamton areas all posting declines in private-sector jobs last month.

New York lost 33,000 private-sector jobs in March. The unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, the same as February after seasonal adjustments. Unemployment was 4.8 percent in March 2008.

In the Binghamton region, the unemployment rate decreased from 9 percent in February to 8.6 percent in March. The rate was 5.7 percent a year ago. The number of private-sector jobs decreased by 2,100.

Syracuse's unemployment rate also dropped from 8.9 percent in February to 8.5 percent in March, compared to 5.7 percent a year ago. The number of private-sector jobs decreased by 3,000.

The unemployment rate in the Utica-Rome area was 8.3 percent in March, down from 8.8 percent in February and up from 5.9 percent a year ago. The number of private-sector jobs dropped by 600.

Unemployment rates declined in all three regions after seasonal adjustments.

"Although New York State's unemployment rate held steady in March 2009, current evidence suggests that the national economic downturn will likely continue to negatively affect the state's labor market in the coming months," Peter Neenan, director of the Division of Research and Statistics with the State Labor Department, said in a news release.

The nation's unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in March, up from 8.1 percent in February, and 5.1 percent a year ago.