While unemployment rates are down again in Chautauqua County for April, this is raising concerns about summer hiring.
The New York State Department of Labor reports April’s rate is 3.2% compared with 4.2% in March, and is down from April 2022’s rate of 3.5%.
Cattaraugus County’s unemployment rate was also 3.2% for April compared with 4.3% for March. This is also down from a year ago when the unemployment rate was 3.8% in April 2022.
Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said there are great concerns across the various hiring sectors in the county, “It’s good that our numbers are that low, but, yeah, if you have low unemployment and you’re still looking for 500 to 1,000 jobs for the upcoming tourism season, that’s a big concern. Chautauqua (Institution) talks about it all the time. Michael Hill, you know. And that’s only one small, it’s kind of a microcosm. They’re kind of a concentrated area. They used to have hundreds of college kids who would come in and converge and live in the Institution and work on the Institution grounds. Those numbers are diminished.”
Wendel added he doesn’t have an answer for how to solve hiring issues but encourages all residents who are able to work to apply for summer jobs.
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Unemployment rates are moving downward in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties for March 2023.
The New York State Department of Labor reports Chautauqua’s rate for March was 4.2% compared with 4.7% in February and 4.3% in March 2022.
Cattaraugus County’s rate was 4.3% for March 2023, compared with 4.8% in February and 4.4% in March 2022.
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Unemployment rates jumped over a percentage point in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties for January 2023.
The New York State Department of Labor reports Chautauqua’s rate for January was 5.1% compared with 3.8% in December and 4.8% in January 2022.
Cattaraugus County’s rate was 5.2% for January 2023, compared with 3.8% in December and 4.8% in January 2022.
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Unemployment ticked up slightly for Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties for December 2022.
The New York State Department of Labor reports Chautauqua’s rate for last month was 3.8% compared with 3.5% in November and 3.7% in December 2021.
Cattaraugus County’s rate also was 3.8% for December 2022, compared with 3.5% in November and 3.6% in December 2021.
]]>Chautauqua County’s unemployment rate rose in November to 3.5% from 2.9% in October.
The State Department of Labor said November’s rate is still lower than November 2021 when it was 3.9%. The state’s unemployment rate has stayed steady at 4.3% for the month.
The DOL also has reported that Chautauqua County added 200 private sector jobs between November 2021 and November 2022.
Cattaraugus County’s unemployment rate also rose to 3.5% for November from October’s rate of 2.9%.
]]>Chautauqua County‘s unemployment rate for October is down from a year ago.
The New York State Department of Labor reported that Chautauqua’s rate for last month was 2.9%, which is down 1.3% from 2021 when it was 4.2%.
Cattaraugus County‘s unemployment rate for October also was 2.9%, which is down 1% from 2021.
]]>The reduction in the rate is attributed to several job sectors adding workers during the month of April. They include mining and construction; manufacturing; education and health services; and other services. Job sectors losing employees in the county included leisure and hospitality and government. Between March and April, New York state’s unemployment rate fell from 8.2 to 7.8 percent, its lowest level since March 2009.
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