The Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area added a net 11,300 private sector jobs over the past year, according to preliminary data from the New York State Labor Department.
The numbers — which are subject to revision as the state DOL and a beleaguered U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continue to gather data — show 2% job growth for New York’s second largest metro area, which outpaced the statewide job growth rate of 1.6%.
Genesee County posted job growth of 1.3% over the past year, but other parts of Western New York weren’t as fortunate. Non-farm jobs slumped by .8% in Chautauqua and Allegany counties. Job losses were the worst in Cattaraugus County, which saw jobs contract by 1.5%.
Job numbers in Wyoming County held steady. The DOL did not provide individual data for Orleans County.
On average, non-metro counties saw a job growth rate of .7% in the past year.
New York State added a total of 164,800 non-farm jobs in the last year, making for a job growth rate of 1.7%.
Private education and health services jobs added a net 123,400 jobs over the past year, giving the industry the highest growth rate of any in the state at 5.4%. The leisure and hospitality sector added 27,400 jobs, making for an annual growth rate of 2.8%.
Construction and manufacturing saw the most job declines of any industry in the state. Those sectors saw job losses of 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
The statewide unemployment rate for July sat at 4%. That’s the same as it was this June, but an improvement over last July’s 4.4% unemployment rate. When New York City is excluded, the unemployment rate for the state sits at 3.4%.