Unemployment statewide and in New York City increased in September and remains worse than a year ago although some areas are posting job gains, according to state Labor Department statistics released Thursday.
The state unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in September, up from 6.2 in August, according to seasonally adjusted data. The unemployment rate was almost a half percentage point higher last month compared to September 2002.
New York City's unemployment rate rose to 8.8 percent in September, up from 8.1 percent in August and 7.8 percent in September 2002.
The city's unemployment drove the trend. Outside New York City, unemployment was 4.8 percent in September, compared with 4.9 percent in August and in September 2002.
Nationally, unemployment was 6.1 percent in September, unchanged from August, but up from 5.7 percent a year earlier.
Although the state continues to mirror the troubled national economy, "many regions of the state are growing, shaking off the effects of the prolonged national recession," said Stephen Kagann, Gov. George Pataki's chief economist. Several upstate areas, from Westchester County to Syracuse, showed gains in private sector jobs from 0.6 percent (Syracuse) to 2.4 percent (Glens Falls).
"What I see in the New York City numbers is continuing improvement," Kagann said. "The trend and rate of decline is going down ... it appears the city may have stopped losing jobs."
The view is less optimistic at the state's largest business lobby.
"The data reflects the importance of easing New York's heavy burden of taxes and government spending," said Matthew Maguire of state Business Council. "The nation has been suffering, but New York has been suffering more and in our view our extra pain is, to a significant extent, self-inflicted."
Maguire blames the Legislature for using its veto power earlier this year to restore some of the spending cut from Pataki's zero-growth budget proposal. Both budgets contained tax increases.
The state's private sector job count increased by 3,200 positions to 6.9 million jobs, down slightly from a year ago. The national job counts faced similar trends, according to the state Labor Department.
Here is a breakdown, not seasonally adjusted, for major metropolitan areas in the state:
_New York City, 317,600 jobless or 8.6 percent, compared with 8.1 percent in August and 7.6 percent in September last year.
_Albany area, 17,400 or 3.6 percent, compared with 3.5 percent and 3.6 percent.
_Binghamton area, 6,700 or 5.4 percent, compared with 5.1 and 5.8.
_Buffalo area, 34,600 or 6.0 percent, compared with 6.2 and 5.7.
_Elmira area, 2,600 or 6.1 percent, compared with 5.9 and 6.5.
_Poughkeepsie area, 4,800 or 3.7 percent, compared with 3.3 and 4.3.
_Rochester area, 32,600 or 5.7 percent, compared with 5.4 and 5.9.
_Syracuse area, 21,300 or 5.6 percent, compared with 5.2 and 5.2.
_Utica-Rome area, 6,400 or 4.4 percent, compared with 4.2 and 4.7.
_Nassau County, 28,400 or 4.0 percent, compared with 4.0 and 4.2.
_Suffolk County, 32,300 or 4.3 percent, compared with 4.6 and 4.4.
_Westchester County, 18,500 or 3.9 percent, compared with 4.0 and 4.2.
_Rockland County, 6,400 or 4.0 percent, compared with 4.6 and 3.9.
_Putnam County, 2,000 or 3.5 percent, compared with 3.4 and 3.5.
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