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Number of jobs, jobless continue to drop in St. Lawrence County in March

Posted 4/21/15

Continuing the trend seen in the first two months of 2015, the number of people employed and receiving unemployment benefits dropped in March, according to the state Department of Labor. There were …

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Number of jobs, jobless continue to drop in St. Lawrence County in March

Posted

Continuing the trend seen in the first two months of 2015, the number of people employed and receiving unemployment benefits dropped in March, according to the state Department of Labor.

There were about 3,500 people receiving unemployment in March, compared to 4,300 in March 2014. That translates to respective unemployment rates of 7.5 percent in March and 8.8 percent in March 2014.

There were 43,600 people in the workforce in March and 44,100 in March 2014, a .5 percent drop, the Department of Labor said.

There were about 4,000 people receiving unemployment insurance in February, down from 4,500 in February 2014. That represents a .5 percent drop.

The unemployment rate was 8.4 percent, down .9 percent from 9.3 percent in February 2014.

The number of people working last month was 43,300 compared to 43,900 in February 2014, a .7 percent decrease.

According to DOL statistics, the unemployment rate in January was 8.7 percent, compared to 9.3 percent a year ago, a .6 percent drop. However, January's rate was an increase from the Dec. 2014 rate was 7.2 percent.

About 4,000 people received unemployment benefits in January, a .4 percent decrease from one year ago when 4,400 were on the dole and roughly 3,300 people in January 2014.

The DOL says 41,800 people were employed in St. Lawrence County in January compared to 42,500 a year ago, or a .7 percent drop.

To our east in Franklin County, there were 1,500 people on the dole in March, compared to 1,800 a year ago. Their unemployment rate in March was 7.2 percent, down from 8.6 percent a year ago. There were 19,000 people working in March compared to 19,100 the same month a year ago.

To our west in Jefferson County, the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent last month form 9.5 percent in March 2014. There were 8,000 people out of work, compared with 9,600 a year ago. Last month, there were 41,700 people working, down from 42,100 a year ago.