Unemployment rate continues to drop in Orleans

Photo by Tom Rivers: A “Help Wanted” sign is displayed in the window of Avanti’s on Main Street in Medina. Many local companies are hiring even as the unemployment rate falls locally.

In Orleans County the unemployment rate was down to 5.8 percent in April, continuing a downward trend in the county, according to data from the State Department of Labor.

The rate in Orleans was 7.6 percent in February and 7.1 percent in March. The 5.8 percent in April was a dramatic difference from the previous April when the rate was 16.8 percent. That was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when many businesses were closed or severely restricted from state guidelines.

The DOL reported there were 16,000 people working in the county in April, up 300 from March and 2,200 more than the 13,800 in April 2020.

National the unemployment rate for April was 5.7 percent, compared to 14.4 percent the previous April. In New York, it was 7.8 percent in April compared to 16.2 percent the previous April.

Tompkins County had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 4.2 percent while Bronx was the highest at 15.0 percent.

In WNY, the unemployment rates include: Allegany, 5.5 percent; Cattaraugus, 6.1 percent; Chautauqua, 6.4 percent; Erie, 6.2 percent; Genesee, 5.0 percent; Livingston, 4.9 percent; Monroe, 5.9 percent; Niagara, 6.3 percent; Orleans, 5.8 percent; and Wyoming, 5.3 percent.