unemployment rate

Genesee County's unemployment rate hit what could be an all-time low in October at 2.1 percent.

Available records go back to 1990, and the 2.1 rate is the lowest of any month since 1990.

The Department of Labor reports 600 people in Genesee County are part of the labor force but without jobs.  The total labor force is 29,800 people in the county. That's up from 29,200 in October 2021, though in September, Genesee County's labor force was 30,300, when there were 800 people looking for work, and the unemployment rate was 2.5 percent.

New York's unemployment rate is 3.6 percent, down from 5.3 percent a year ago. The nation's rate is 3.4 percent, down from 4.3 percent a year ago.

The Buffalo area rate is 2.7 percent, and the greater Rochester area is 2.5 percent.

For the sixth straight month, Genesee County's unemployment rate was lower than the pre-pandemic rate for the same month, according to the New York State Department of Labor. The rate of 3.7 percent for March of this year reflects a dip when compared to a 4.5 percent rate in March 2019.

The rate in March 2021 was 5.6 percent and the rate in March 2020 was 5.7 percent.

The current rate is the lowest it's been from available state labor department records going back to 1990.

There are 29,300 workers reported in the labor force for Genesee County currently, compared to 28,700 in 2021 and 29,800 in 2019.  

The reported total number of Genesee County residents who were employed in March 2022 is 28,200, compared to 27,100 a year ago, and 28,420 in 2019.

There are 1,100 people reportedly looking for work, compared to 1,600 a year ago and 1,320 in March 2019.

The unemployment rate for all of New York State is 4.7 percent, which is higher than the March 2019 -- pre-pandemic -- rate of 4 percent.