Dec 18, 2008 2:42 pm US/Eastern
NY's Unemployment Rate Highest Since April 2004
ALBANY (AP) ―
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With the economy sinking faster, employers are giving more Americans dreaded pink slips right before the holidays. (File)
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in November from 5.7 percent in October as private-sector employers cut 23,500 jobs.
The state Labor Department said Thursday that was the largest decline in private-sector jobs in seven years and the highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate since April 2004.
New York City's unemployment rate rose even more sharply last month, coming in at 6.3 percent compared with 5.7 percent in October, driven largely by the meltdown on Wall Street that has prompted thousands of job cuts.
About 15,900 employees at Wall Street firms and other financial institutions lost their jobs last month as the investment industry continued to struggle amid a worsening recession.
Though the bulk of those cuts were in the New York City area, the number includes some 225 jobs that HSBC cut in Depew, just outside of Buffalo.
At the same time, New York factory workers continue to bear the brunt of the economic downturn, according to labor department figures that show a loss of roughly 17,700 manufacturing jobs last month.
Among the companies that notified the state of layoffs last month were NXP Semiconductors in Hopewell Junction, which said it's cutting 512 jobs; Super Steel in Schenectady, which cut 175 jobs; and AJM Packaging in Brentwood, which said it's getting rid of 126 positions.
The trade, transportation and utilities industries cut some 16,800 jobs last month. Global shipping company DHL Express said it will end its U.S. domestic deliveries by the end of next month and recently told the state it will cut at least 115 jobs in Syracuse and another 30 in Newburgh.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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