By Madina Toure
In December, the unemployment rate declined in Queens, the New York State Labor Department reported.
The jobless rate in December was 5.7 percent, down from 5.9 percent in November, , according to Jim Brown, a labor market analyst for the Labor Department.
Queens’ December unemployment rate was considerably higher at 6.7 percent in December 2013.
New York City’s unemployment numbers remained the same in December, at 6.3 percent, the lowest level since October 2008.
In December, the number of private sector jobs in New York state increased by 30,100, or 0.4 percent, to 7,638,200.
The state’s economy has added 535,600 private sector jobs and seen employment growth in 41 of the last 48 months since the start of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, the department said. This period included 22 consecutive months of private sector job growth.
The statewide unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent from 5.9 percent in December, its lowest point since September 2008, according to preliminary figures released by the Labor Department.
“In December 2014, New York state’s economy experienced its largest monthly private sector job gain in two years and outpaced the nation,” said Bohdan Wynnyk, deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “In addition, the state’s unemployment rate continued its recent downward trend in December.”
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.
