Orleans unemployment rate jumps to 12.8 percent

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 August 2020 at 10:05 pm

The latest data from the State Department of Labor shows the unemployment rate in Orleans County increased from 10.8 percent in June to 12.8 percent in July.

The unemployment rate in the county had been trending down from a pandemic high of 15.9 percent in April to 11.5 percent in May and then the 10.8 percent in June.

The state data shows the number of employed in Orleans County has dropped from 16,900 in July 2019 to 15,400, a decline of 1,500 people working.

The number unemployed  increased from 900 to 2,300 during that year. In July 2019, Orleans had an unemployment rate of 5.0 percent.

Orleans is doing better than the statewide unemployment rate, which was 16.0 percent in July, the DOL reported. The state rate was 4.2 percent in July 2019.

From July 2019 to July 2020, the state’s private sector employment count decreased by 1,184,500.

The highest unemployment rates in the state include: Bronx, 24.9 percent; Queens, 20.5 percent; Kings, 20.4 percent; and New York, 15.9 percent.

The lowest rates include Hamilton, 7.4 percent; Yates, 9.5 percent; Lewis, 9.7 percent; Tompkins, 9.9 percent; Chenango, 9.9 percent; and Columbia, 9.9 percent.

The rates in WNY include:

  • Allegany, 12.1 percent
  • Cattaraugus, 13.1 percent
  • Chautauqua, 12.4 percent
  • Erie, 14.1 percent
  • Genesee, 10.6 percent
  • Livingston, 10.4 percent
  • Monroe, 13.7 percent
  • Niagara, 14.6 percent
  • Orleans, 12.8 percent
  • Wyoming, 10.1 percent

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