Unemployment rate in Orleans, at 4.2%, lowest for an August in many years

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2022 at 3:49 pm

The unemployment rate for Orleans County was at 4.2 percent in August. That is lowest for an August in the county in at least the last decade.

Other recent August unemployment rates in Orleans include 4.2 percent in 2022, 5.1 percent in 2021, 7.4 percent in 2020, 5.0 percent in 2019, 4.6 percent in 2018, and 6.0 percent in 2017, 5.6 percent in 2016, 5.9 percent in 2015, 7.3 percent in 2014, 8.8 percent in 2013, and 10.2 percent in 2012.

The state DOL reports that the number employed in the county is up 200 from 16,300 in August 2021 to 16,500 in August 2022. The number unemployed is down from 900 to 700 in that time.

The unemployment rate dipped in Orleans from 4.1 percent in July to 4.2 percent in August. The rate was at 3.7 percent in June, and 3.3 percent in May.

The August unemployment rate for nearby counties includes:

Orleans, 4.2 percent
Genesee, 3.0 percent
Wyoming, 3.1 percent
Livingston, 3.3 percent
Niagara, 4.2 percent
Monroe, 4.0 percent
Erie, 4.1 percent

Nationally the unemployment rate is down from 5.3 percent in August 2021 to 3.8 percent in August 2022. Statewide the rate dropped from 6.7 to 4.9 percent.

In New York, there were 9,101,300 people employed in August, compared to 8,869,900 the previous August. The number of unemployed statewide dropped from 636,900 to 473,500 during those 12 months, according to the Department of Labor.