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Unemployment Rate Drops In August

The Rochester area's unemployment rate dropped in the latest numbers released by the  New York State Labor Department. But  it's kind of a mixed picture.

The unemployment rate for the Rochester metro dropped just over one point in August  to 6.9 percent, compared to August of last year when it was eight percent. (It was 7.1 percent in July of this year)

State labor analyst Tammy Marino says that number is an improvement, but still it is historically higher than the three to four percent jobless rate we used to see this time of year.

"We’ve been through a very deep and prolonged recession so it's really going to take some time before we get back to those low levels of unemployment."

Marino says one reason the unemployment rate may be because the local workforce is shrinking. She says that is due in part to the aging of the population, with more people retiring as well as people getting out of the labor force for other reasons, such as leaving the area.

Last week the state reported the number of private sector jobs in Rochester dropped by 800 in August compared to the same time last year.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.