The latest numbers on unemployment for the Rochester saw more improvement.
The jobless rate for the metro area in August was 4.8 percent, down from 5.6 percent a year ago.
State Labor Analyst Tammy Marino says we have been seeing consistent improvement in these numbers in recent months.
"The unemployment rate here in the Rochester area has finally returned to a more normal level; typically for the month of August the unemployment rate tends to average around 5 percent, so at 4.8 percent currently we've finally fallen below that long term historical average."
Marino says one reason for the unemployment rate dropping has been the fact the local labor force shrinking, which is due in part to changes in demographics. But she says job growth has also helped reduce joblessness.
The latest numbers show that the Rochester area saw a gain of more than 10,000 jobs in August, compared to a year ago.
Marino says hiring is going on in a number of sectors of the local economy.
"We do have more employers that are hiring and the hiring that we do have has become much more broad based; in fact last year most of our job growth was concentrated in education and health care, however this year we have a much more diverse set of employers that are hiring."
Marino says the weaker parts of the local economy in terms of layoffs in recent months have been in manufacturing and the financial sector.
