Orleans has 4th highest unemployment rate in state

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 November 2013 at 12:00 am

Rate jumped from 7.7% in September to 8.5% in October

Orleans County’s unemployment rate jumped in October, following a month when JP Morgan Chase closed its center in Albion and cut about 400 jobs.

The county’s unemployment rate for October is the fourth-highest rate in the state, according to the state Department of Labor. The county rate went from 7.7 percent in September to 8.5 percent in October. About 200 more people were added to the county’s ranks of the unemployed.

Bronx County, 12.2 percent, has the highest unemployment rate, followed by Kings County at 9.6 percent. Both of those are in New York City. In upstate, only Jefferson County in the North County, at 8.7 percent, topped Orleans.

Other nearby rural counties have lower unemployment rates. Genesee is at 6.1 percent, while Wyoming is at 6.5 percent and Livingston, 6.7 percent.

Orleans, despite the current high rate, is actually is better shape for jobs than in October 2012, when it had a 10.0 percent for unemployment.

There were 1,600 unemployed people in the county last month, according to the DOL. In October 2012, there were 1,900.

State-wide the unemployment rate went up from 7.6 percent in September to 7.7 percent for October. However, 9,000 jobs were added in the state in October, followed by a 24,800 increase in September. The current job count in the state, 7,490,100, is an all-time high, the DOL reported.