Construction sector gains 300 jobs relative to the same month last year.
View full sizeThe first steel beam goes up for a $220 million expansion project at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, in Syracuse, on Monday. The Syracuse area’s unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in May, the first time since November 2007 that it has fallen in comparison with the same month a year earlier, the state Department of Labor said today.
The jobless rate in the area was 8 percent in May last year and 7.7 percent in April of this year.
The area also gained jobs in May — 600 of them — compared with the same month last year. That’s the first time since October 2008 that the area has seen job gains compared with the same month a year earlier.
“I believe we can say the recovery in Syracuse has begun,” said Roger Evans, an economist with the state Department of Labor. “I believe we can safely say that now. It’s the first sign that jobs have begun to come back.”
The area’s unemployment rate was noticeably lower last month that the jobless rates of the state and the nation. The state’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent — the same as in May 2009. The national unemployment rate was 9.3 percent, an increase from 9.1 percent in May 2009.
Leading the job gains in the Syracuse area was the educational and health services sector, which gained 2,100 jobs. The sector consists of only private-sector jobs. It does not include public school districts, which fall into the government category. Government lost 100 jobs in May.
Professional and business services also had a strong showing, gaining 400 jobs. The construction sector and the leisure and hospitality sector each gained 300 jobs.
The financial sector, which lost 700 jobs, and manufacturing, which shrank by another 500 jobs, are still feeling the recession’s bite, however.
The Department of Labor said an estimated 25,100 people in Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties were unemployed, compared with 26,400 in May last year. The department bases its estimates on a household survey.
Reach Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.