NYS Department of Labor unemployment rate vs national rate - what is the national rate of unemployment right now?
I'm trying to understand how NYS Department of Labor unemployment statistics compare to other states. Does anyone know what is the national rate of unemployment currently? I've been on UI for 6 months now and wondering if New York's job market is worse than the rest of the country. My weekly claims keep getting approved but I'm not finding anything in my field. Are we doing better or worse than the national average?
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StarSailor}
The national unemployment rate is around 3.7% as of late 2024. NYS Department of Labor shows New York at about 4.1%, so we're slightly higher than the national average. Keep in mind these are overall rates - your specific industry and region within NY might be different.
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Ava Garcia
•Thanks for the numbers! I'm in tech so maybe that explains why I'm having trouble. Do you know where to find industry-specific unemployment data?
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Miguel Silva
honestly the numbers dont mean much when you're struggling to find work. ive been filing weekly claims for 4 months and the job market feels terrible regardless of what the statistics say
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Zainab Ismail
•I understand the frustration, but tracking these trends can actually help with job search strategy. If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor agents for job search requirement questions, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to speak with someone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Connor O'Neill
The NYS Department of Labor website has a labor statistics section but it's not always up to date. The national rate fluctuates monthly and the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases new numbers every first Friday of the month. New York tends to lag behind the national recovery trends by a few months typically.
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Yara Nassar
•Wait, so if the national rate is improving, does that mean my chances of finding work through the NYS Department of Labor job search requirements will get better soon?
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Connor O'Neill
•Not necessarily directly correlated, but improving national trends usually do filter down to state levels eventually. Keep documenting your job search activities for your weekly claims regardless.
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Keisha Robinson
THE UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEM IS RIGGED ANYWAY! These statistics don't reflect people who gave up looking or whose benefits ran out. The real unemployment is much higher than what NYS Department of Labor reports!!
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StarSailor}
•While there are legitimate criticisms of how unemployment is measured, the official rates still provide useful context for understanding economic trends and job market conditions.
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GalaxyGuardian
same boat here, been wondering about this too. glad someone asked!
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Samantha Howard
I've been tracking this data too since I'm also on unemployment. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the national unemployment rate is sitting at 3.7% as of December 2024. New York is at 4.2%, so we're about half a percentage point above the national average. What's interesting is that different regions within NY vary quite a bit - NYC metro area tends to be closer to the national average while upstate areas can be higher. If you're looking for more detailed breakdowns, the NYS Department of Labor releases monthly reports that include county-level data. Hang in there - 6 months is tough but the job market does seem to be slowly improving based on the trend data.
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NeonNinja
•This is really helpful data, thank you! The county-level breakdown sounds useful - do you happen to know if the NYS Department of Labor reports also include industry-specific unemployment rates? I'm wondering if certain sectors are hit harder than others right now, which might explain why some of us are struggling more even when the overall numbers don't look that bad.
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