Orleans unemployment rate, 3.2% in September, lowest in past 30 years

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 October 2022 at 1:41 pm

The latest data from the state Department of Labor puts the unemployment rate at 3.2 percent in Orleans County in September, among the lowest in the county in the past 30 years.

The DOL says there are 16,800 people working in the county in September, compared to 16,400 in September 2021. There are 600 on unemployment, compared to 700 in September 2021. The unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in September compares to 3.9 percent a year earlier.

The unemployment rate in the county the past 12 months includes:

September, 3.2 percent
August, 4.2 percent
July, 4.1 percent
June, 3.7 percent
May, 3.3 percent
April, 3.4 percent
March, 4.3 percent
February, 4.6 percent
January, 4.3 percent
December 2021, 3.2 percent
November 2021, 3.4 percent
October 2021, 3.7 percent

The unemployment rate at 3.2 percent in September 2022 and also in December 2021 is the lowest rate for Orleans in at least 30 years.

The county before 2022 only dipped below 4 percent a few times in the past three decades:

During 1990s, Orleans was below 4 percent twice – 3.8 percent in September 1999 and 3.9 percent in October 1999.

From 2000 to 2009, the rate dipped below 4 percent twice – 3.8 percent in September 2000 and 3.6 percent in October 2000.

From 2010 to 2019, the unemployment rate was below 4 percent five times – 3.5 percent in September and October 2018, 3.7 percent in November 2018, 3.7 percent in September 2019, and 3.8 percent in October 2019.

Since 2020, the rate dropped below 4 percent the last two months of 2021 – 3.8 percent in November and then 3.1 percent in December. In 2022, it has been below 4 percent for four different months.

The September unemployment rate for nearby counties includes:

Orleans, 3.2 percent
Genesee, 2.5 percent
Wyoming, 2.5 percent
Livingston, 2.8 percent
Niagara, 3.4 percent
Monroe, 3.2 percent
Erie, 3.3 percent

Nationally the unemployment rate is down from 4.6 percent in September 2021, to 3.8 percent in August to 3.3 percent last month, while in New York State it dropped from 5.7 percent in September 2021, to 4.9 percent in August to 3.9 percent last month.