NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The unemployment rate in the New York City metro area continued to fall in latest figures, dropping nearly half since July 2020.
Numbers released Wednesday showed an 8% unemployment rate in the New York City/Newark metro area during July 2021. The region was at a 15.4% rate at the same time last year.
The Department of Labor Statistics numbers show, though, that NYC's figures are lower than the nation's overall 5.7% unemployment rate.
Over that year period, the biggest gains in jobs came from the leisure/hospitality sector, figures show. About 200,000 new jobs have come from the field over the 12-month period.
The unemployment stats are higher in some competing cities — Los Angeles and Las Vegas are over 9%.
But in others, NYC is far behind, according to federal figures. Boston's unemployment rate is 5.3%, and Trenton's is 6.2%.
Another notable number is the job growth figure of 6.5% from last year in New York City. The countrywide average is 5.3%
