The unemployment rate in the Rochester area in March was 6.7 percent. That is a full point lower than it was at this time last year, and down a half point from February.
State Labor Analyst Tammy Marino notes that during the height of the recession, the local unemployment rate exceeded nine percent.
"Since that time the local job market has made substantial gains. Since the end of the recession employers have created more than 19,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate has pulled back to a much more modest 6.7 percent.”
Marino says one reason the unemployment rate has dropped is because the local labor force is shrinking, as the population ages, and more people retire.
Last week, the state labor department said the Rochester area gained 2900 private sector jobs in March compared to March of last year.
