NEW YORK STATE – On Thursday, the New York State Department of Labor released its latest unemployment figures. The state lost 14,000 private sector jobs in October, its overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipping only slightly from the month before.
"The state did outperform the nation in terms of unemployment, and the job counts statewide were relatively unchanged," said New York State Labor Market Analyst James Ross.
Like the rest of the country, job growth is slow in Upstate New York, but there are only key industries where significant job loss is happening. In the Capital Region, there's been a drop in consumer driven industries.
"People are not going out to restaurants as much as they used to, they're not going out and buying as much stuff as they have in the past," said Ross.
New unemployment numbers are painting a very dismal picture of the state's workforce. And while New York State's unemployment level is below the nationwide average, the statistics are still pretty startling. Erin Billups reports.
In the Central New York region, in Syracuse and surrounding areas, the manufacturing industry has seen considerable job loss. But across upstate, so far jobs have been relatively stable, especially in health care, education, government and technology industries. In some cases, there's even growth.
Still, the state is struggling financially because downstate, where the unemployment rates are around six percent, due in part to Wall Street's meltdown, is where much of the state's revenue comes from.
"Even though in our job count one job equals one job, a job down on Wall Street pays a lot more," Ross said.
Unemployment numbers are not rising drastically month to month in New York, but compared to this time last year, the unemployment rate has risen a full percentage point. So more people are collecting unemployment in the state and nationwide. Last week, new claims for unemployment rose to a 16 year high.
In light of those numbers, Congress voted Thursday to pass legislation extending unemployment benefits through the holiday season, a move supported by the president.
"The president is very concerned. He wants an economy where anybody who wants to find a job can find employment. Because of the tight job market, the president believes it would appropriate to further extend unemployment benefits," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.
Ross said the extension of benefits could be viewed as a mini-stimulus package, not only to help the unemployed make ends meet, but to keep money moving through local economies during the holiday season.