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County Unemployment Rate Increases

The unemployment rate in Chautauqua County has increased over the course of a year, according to preliminary information released Tuesday by the New York State Department of Labor.

The local unemployment rate was 5.3% in December 2019, up from 4.8% in December 2018.

There were 2,600 unemployed residents in Chautauqua County in December 2018. As of last month, there were 2,900 residents without work. On the other end, there were 52,100 employed workers in the county in December 2018, compared to 51,500 last month.

Elsewhere, unemployment in Cattaraugus County increased as well, from 5.3% in December 2018 to 5.8% in December 2019. Allegany County’s unemployment went from 5.2% in December 2018 to 6% as of last month.

The statewide unemployment rate decreased slightly over the year, from 3.9% to 3.7%. In the United States, the unemployment rate, as of December, was at 3.4%.

According to the state Labor Department, rates are calculated using methods prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s area unemployment rates rely in part on the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York each month.

From December 2018 to December 2019, the state’s private sector employment count increased by 97,700. In December 2019, the number of private sector jobs in the State was 8,325,400.

The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers, which is conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.0% in December 2019.

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