BUFFALO, N.Y. — New data released by the New York State Department of Labor shows the area of Buffalo and Niagara Falls had one of the highest unemployment rates in New York State during the month of May.
The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for May 2020 on Tuesday. The results show that the unemployment rate in Buffalo and Niagara Falls decreased from April to May; however, it was still the second highest unemployment rate in the state.
The New York State Department of Labor reports Buffalo and Niagara Falls had a 19.2 percent unemployment rate back in April, which decreased to 14.3 percent in May. This time last year the unemployment rate in Buffalo and Niagara Falls was at 3.8 percent.
New York City had the highest unemployment rate during the month of May at 18.2 percent. The metro area of Elmira comes in third with a rate of 12.1 percent.
Our partners at Buffalo Business First reported last month that the Buffalo area suffered the third-worst employment decline of any major American metro.