Chautauqua County’s unemployment rate has lowered following a two-month spike as more businesses reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to statistics released Tuesday by the state Labor Department, 11.1% of the workforce was unemployed in May — down from the 15.5% reported in April but still up from the 6.1% reported in March.

Elsewhere, the unemployment rate was 13.3% in Cattaraugus County in May, while Allegany County reported 10.2% and Erie County 13.9%.

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 state each month.

From May 2019 to May 2020, the state’s private sector employment count decreased by 1,682,800. In May, the number of private sector jobs in the State was 6,612,000.

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 decreased from 15.3% to 14.5% in May 2020.