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Local Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly

 Downtown Rochester skyline view.
Max Schulte
/
WXXI News
Downtown Rochester skyline view.

  The latest numbers from the State Labor Department show a drop in this region's unemployment rate. 
 
The unemployment rate for the Rochester Metro was eight percent in March. That's down from 8.7 percent in February, and 8.3 percent in March of  last year.  
 
State Labor analyst Tammy Marino says that jobless rate is still historically high for this time of year. But she says we have been seeing some improvement, and that is likely to continue in the warmer months as we typically gain seasonal jobs such as construction and employment in the hospitality industry. Marino says so far, seasonal hiring seems to be stronger than expected.
 
Last week the state reported that the Rochester area gained 200 private sector jobs in March compared to a year ago.  That's a relatively weak number, but it did turn around a recent trend of declining jobs figures in the monthly employment report