July marks the third straight month that Genesee County's labor force -- the number of people either working or seeking work -- has topped 30,000. The labor force was typically over 30,000 in the several months before the pandemic struck.

The unemployment rate for July is pegged at 3 percent, lower than a year ago when it was 4.3 percent. The rate in June was 2.8 percent.

In both July and June, 900 people were listed as unemployed, according to the Labor Department data. In July 2021, there were 1,300 people unemployed.

The state's unemployment rate was 4.8 percent for July compared to 7.1 percent a year ago.

June was the third straight month this year when the county's unemployment rate was below 3.0 percent and the fourth time since November 2021.

A year ago, the June rate was 4.4 percent, and in 2020, it was 8.3 percent.

The state's Labor Department reports that there are 29,800 people employed in the county, 900 registered as unemployed and a total labor force of 30,700 individuals.

A year ago, the total labor force was 29,400, and it was 29,500 in 2020.

The state's unemployment rate is 4.4 percent, down from 7.5 percent a year ago, according to the DOL.  The nation's is 3.8 percent, down from 6.1 percent. 

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, C, I-Batavia) is speaking out following the passage of a bill (A.6666) by the Assembly Majority that would remove requirements for individuals overpaid by the New York state unemployment system to pay back those funds. Hawley believes that the removal of such a requirement could encourage future abuse of the unemployment system and other assistance programs in the future, and that it burdens small businesses whose unemployment insurance costs have skyrocketed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While it is true people make mistakes, offering a blanket forgiveness to those who received this money and weren’t actually eligible sends the wrong message about how seriously our state tries to protect taxpayer dollars,” said Hawley. “This bill will also hurt the small business owners who are forced to pay more for unemployment insurance. This, in turn, could make it harder for them to hire more people and expand their operations.”

Text of the Bill.

There are 21,500 non-farm jobs in Genesee County, up from 21,000 a year ago.

The total number of private-sector jobs grew from 15,900 to 16,300.

The county's unemployment rate for February 2022 was 4.1 percent, down from 6.2 a year ago and the lowest rate for any February since at least 1990.

The total labor force (the number of people working or seeking work) grew from 29,000 to 29,200.

The total number of local residents employed in February was 28,200, up from 27,200.  The number of employed in February 2020 was higher at 28,600, which was the highest level since 2009 when it was 29,600.

The total unemployed -- people still in the market for jobs -- was 1,200, down from 1,800 a year earlier and lower than in 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, when it was 1,600.  The February total for Genesee County was the lowest since at least 1990.

The state's unemployment rate is 5.1 percent and the nation's is 3.8 percent.

In a recent report, however, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (a Federal agency), New York has a higher labor under-utilization rate than the rest of the nation. 

Labor under-utilization is a measure of the number of people who are unemployed, employed part-time for economic reasons, and those marginally attached to the labor force.

For New York, the rate is 12.2.  Nationally it is 9.4 percent.

New York City's under-utilization rate appears to be pushing up the state average.  In NYC it is 15.5.  For the rest of the state, the data is not broken down by county so the statistic isn't available specifically for Genesee County.

The labor force (the number of people with jobs or considered employable but unemployed) was 28,000 in December, down from 29,200 in December 2021.

The total number of employed residents was recorded as 27,200, down from 27,600 a year ago, with 800 residents unemployed, down from 1,600 a year ago.

The NYS Department of Labor statistics available online goes back to only 1990.  The unemployment rate has never dipped below 3.0 over those decades.

The GLOW-area unemployment rate is 2.8, also a record.

In Erie County rate is 3.3 percent, and Monroe County is 3.0.

The State rate is 5.0, down from 8.5 percent a year ago.  The national rate is 3.7 percent, down from 6.5 percent a year ago.

The micropolitan area, a demographic term, is roughly contiguous with the borders of Genesee County.

There are 27,900 people in the local labor force (people with jobs or looking for jobs), down from 28,900 from a year ago. There are 27,000 people with jobs, down by 500 from the previous year.

There are 900 people in the labor force who are currently unemployed, down from 1,400 a year ago, and down by 100 from last month.

The state's unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, down from 8.3 percent a year ago.

There are 28,300 people in the local labor force and of those, 27,200 are employed, making the current unemployment rate for October 3.6 percent.

The same as last month and down from a year ago when it was 4.6 percent.  

A year ago, there were more than 1,300 people drawing unemployment.

The GLOW area unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, down from 4.7 percent a year ago.

The state's unemployment rate is 6 percent, down from 8.3 percent a year ago.

As for the total number of jobs in the county, there are currently 21,300 non-farm jobs, up from 21,200 a year ago.

The 5-percent rate is still a point-and-a-half or so above the 3.6-percent rate of April 2019.

Outside of the 15.9-percent rate of a year ago, the highest rate for an April over the past 31 years was 7.6 percent in 2012.

The Labor Department reports 27,900 people in Genesee County's labor force, which is the aggregate of everybody employed and everybody seeking work. Of those, 26,500 have jobs and 1,400 are looking for jobs.

The March 2021 unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.

The state's unemployment rate is 8.2 percent.

Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) introduced the Help Wanted Act yesterday evening to help address the growing labor shortages reported in Western New York and around the nation.

“The jobs report released Friday shows what we warned would happen – the President’s policies have disincentivized work and made it more lucrative for individuals to stay home and collect enhanced unemployment benefits than seek employment,” Jacobs said. “Now we are seeing the effects.

"Businesses cannot find employees to keep up with growing demand, restaurants are having to turn customers away when they need them most, and commodity prices are skyrocketing as organizations cannot find labor to support their supply chains. This legislation addresses the root causes of this labor shortage to get Americans back to work and support our economic recovery.”

“There are nearly 8 million job openings and 14 million Americans out of work. If the American economy is going to make a full comeback, we have to get folks back to work -- Congressman Jacobs' Help Wanted Act accomplishes that goal,” Rep. Dusty Johnson said.

“I have continually advocated for reopening our economy and getting people back to work,” said Rep. Tracey Mann. “At a time when small businesses and other employers are searching for workers, the federal government’s interference to normal order is not the right path. It’s time to take off the masks, reopen our businesses and schools, and get back on track.”

The Help Wanted Act was introduced by Rep. Jacobs and is cosponsored by Rep. Johnson (SD-AL) and Rep. Mann (KS-01). 

The legislation would accomplish three main goals. It would require every state to reinstate the “work-search” requirement for unemployment benefits. This requires unemployment recipients to show proof of a job search to receive benefits. During the coronavirus pandemic, this condition was waived by many states.

"In addition, the legislation strikes a provision from the CARES Act allowing individuals to collect unemployment if they voluntarily left their job. Finally, the legislation would prohibit the use of generic concerns about COVID-19 as a reason for turning down offers of employment.

Jacobs said “With more than a year of complying with COVID protocols, vaccines available to all adults, and infection rates dropping significantly, it is time for us to fully reopen and get back to work."

“I am happy that Comptroller (Thomas) DiNapoli will be auditing the New York State Unemployment system for fraud," said Sen. Ed Rath (NYS-61). While this is a critical first step, I believe that a full and comprehensive audit of the system needs to be done.

"From the very start of the pandemic, the unemployment system in our State has been an absolute mess and the lack of transparency has been very concerning. Between residents being unable to receive the benefits they are due, to long wait times to overpayments and blatant fraud, there has been nonstop issues.

"My office has heard from hundreds of residents regarding their unemployment problems, and I am proud to say we have been able to work to resolve many of their issues.

"Unfortunately, until the fundamental challenges with the unemployment system are addressed, these problems will continue to occur, and we will continue to see fraud and waste in the system. I am hopeful that this audit will bring some much-needed transparency to the process.”