Department of Numbers

Rochester, New York Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Rochester fell 0.2 percentage points in November 2021 to 4.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 2.0 percentage points lower than the New York rate. The unemployment rate in Rochester peaked in April 2020 at 16.0% and is now 11.4 percentage points lower. You can also compare Rochester unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 4.2% -0.4 -2.5
New York 6.6% -0.3 -2.1
Rochester 4.6% -0.2 -1.5
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2021 data as December metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Rochester, New York, National

Rochester, New York monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Rochester, New York Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Rochester peaked in April 2020 at 79,207. There are now 55,540 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Rochester employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Rochester, New York) is also available.

Unemployed Persons November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Rochester 23,667 -899 -7,497

Number of Unemployed Persons

Rochester, New York Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 New York
Unemployment Rate		 Rochester
Unemployment Rate		 Rochester
Unemployed
December
2021		 3.9% — — —
November
2021		 4.2% 6.6% 4.6% 23,667
October
2021		 4.6% 6.9% 4.8% 24,566
September
2021		 4.7% 7.1% 4.8% 24,734
August
2021		 5.2% 7.4% 5.4% 27,984
July
2021		 5.4% 7.6% 5.5% 28,595
June
2021		 5.9% 7.7% 5.7% 29,328
May
2021		 5.8% 7.8% 5.8% 30,098
April
2021		 6.0% 8.2% 6.0% 30,937
March
2021		 6.0% 8.4% 6.0% 31,203
February
2021		 6.2% 8.9% 6.0% 30,907
January
2021		 6.4% 8.8% 5.9% 30,215

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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