Unemployment rate in Orleans falls to lowest level in generation
The unemployment rate for Orleans County in September was 3.7 percent, the lowest rate in nearly 20 years. It was also 3.7 percent in October 2000. The 3.7 percent rate is the lowest level for Orleans since at least 1990, according to statistics from the state Department of Labor.
The county’s unemployment rate in September 2017 was 5.2 percent. The number of people working in the county increased from 16,700 to 17,200 from September 2017 to September 2018, while the number of unemployed dropped from 900 to 700.
The unemployment rate for the county has been steadily decreasing in recent years. In Orleans, the annual average unemployment rate has declined from 9.7 percent in 2012, 9.1 in 2013, 7.7 in 2014, 6.4 in 2015, 5.7 in 2016, 5.9 in 2017 and 5.5 percent the first nine months this year.
The county’s unemployment rate was over 10 percent not that long ago. It was 11.2 percent in January 2013 and 10.6 percent in February 2013.
Statewide, the rate fell to 3.8 percent in September, down from 4.6 percent in September 2017.
Bronx had the highest unemployment in the state at 5.4 percent in September. In upstate, St. Lawrence and Allegany had the highest at 4.5 percent. Columbia County had the lowest rate at 2.8 percent.
Other nearby counties and their unemployment rates include: Genesee, 3.3; Livingston, 3.5; Wyoming, 3.2; Niagara, 4.1; Monroe, 3.8; and Erie, 3.7.
