Unemployment down slightly in Capital Region

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ned Campbell

Unemployment in the Capital Region was down slightly last month, according to preliminary local job data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor.

Unemployment decreased for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area from 4.9 percent in August 2014 to 4.3 percent in August 2015, the department said in a news release.

Saratoga County had one of the state’s lowest unemployment rates of 3.9 percent, the third lowest behind Columbia and Hamilton counties, both with rates of 3.6 percent, the department said. Albany County, at 4.3 percent, had the ninth lowest rate. Schenectady County’s unemployment rate for August 2015 was 4.7 percent.

Statewide, private-sector jobs increased by 163,000 to 7.8 million, the department said.

From July to August of this year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 5.4 percent to 5.2 percent, the lowest since May 2008.