Unemployment ticks up in Orleans after months of very low rates
4.8% in January first time over 4% since August
The unemployment rate in Orleans County was at 4.8 percent in January, the first time it topped 4 percent since August.
The state Department of Labor is reporting there were 16,200 people employed in Orleans, with 800 unemployed in the labor force.
The 4.8 percent compares to 4.4 percent in January 2022, when the labor force had 400 more people – 17,400 compared to 17,000 in January 2023. In January 2021, the rate was at 6.8 percent in Orleans, with 1,200 people on unemployment and 16,000 working.
The rate was at a record low of 2.9 percent in October but has been trending up to 3.3 percent in November, 3.6 percent in December and at 4.8 percent in January.
Statewide the unemployment rate was at 4.6 percent in January, compared to 5.6 percent a year earlier in January 2022. The number of people employed in the state increased from 9,060,200 in January 2022 to 9,156,700, while the number unemployed dropped from 533,300 to 440,500 during that time, according to the DOL.
