What does this measure?
Unemployed individuals are those without jobs who are able, available and actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the total labor force (the total number of employed and unemployed individuals 16 or older and not living in prisons, mental hospitals or nursing homes).
Why is this important?
Unemployment rates are a relatively timely indicator of current local economic conditions, particularly recent changes in the employment landscape that reflect the overall health of the economy.
How is our region performing?
The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing shutdowns increased the unemployment rate for the 9-county Rochester region in 2020 but in 2021 the rate dropped to 4.9%, up 0.9% from 2019. The region's 2021 rate was similar to the national level and slightly lower than the state levels (5.3% and 6.9%, respectively). Throughout the decade, the region has generally fared somewhat better than New York State and the nation.
Monroe and Orleans had the highest unemployment rates in the region both at 5.2% in 2021, while Yates had the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 3.8% followed by Genesee, Livingston, and Ontario all at 4.3%. The City of Rochester unemployment rate in 2021 (8%) declined from a high of 12.1% in 2020.
Notes about the data
The unemployment rate represents only those who are actively seeking employment and does not account for under-employment or discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs. Also, county-level estimates are based on relatively small samples, and the true number of unemployed residents may therefore vary considerably from the estimate. The rates reported here are averages of monthly rates.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYS | 4.5% | 4.9% | 6.2% | 6.4% | 5.8% | 5.0% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 5.4% | 8.4% | 8.7% | 8.3% | 8.6% | 7.8% | 6.3% | 5.2% | 4.9% | 4.6% | 4.1% | 3.8% | 9.9% | 6.9% |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 3.7% | 4.1% | 5.0% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 5.3% | 7.8% | 8.1% | 7.8% | 8.0% | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.1% | 3.8% | 7.9% | 4.8% |
| Region | 3.7% | 4.2% | 5.5% | 5.6% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 5.5% | 8.0% | 8.3% | 7.8% | 8.1% | 7.2% | 5.9% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 4.9% | 4.2% | 4.0% | 7.8% | 4.9% |
| Monroe | 3.5% | 4.1% | 5.4% | 5.6% | 5.3% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 5.4% | 8.0% | 8.2% | 7.7% | 8.0% | 7.2% | 5.8% | 5.1% | 4.8% | 4.9% | 4.2% | 4.0% | 8.2% | 5.2% |
| Surrounding Counties | 3.9% | 4.4% | 5.7% | 5.8% | 5.6% | 4.9% | 4.7% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 8.1% | 8.4% | 8.0% | 8.2% | 7.3% | 5.9% | 5.2% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.2% | 3.9% | 7.1% | 4.4% |
| Genesee | 3.9% | 4.3% | 5.3% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 5.5% | 7.8% | 8.2% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 7.0% | 5.6% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.1% | 3.8% | 7.1% | 4.3% |
| Livingston | 4.0% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 6.1% | 5.9% | 5.0% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 5.9% | 8.5% | 8.2% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 7.2% | 5.8% | 5.3% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 6.8% | 4.3% |
| Ontario | 3.5% | 4.0% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.1% | 5.1% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 6.5% | 5.3% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 6.9% | 4.3% |
| Orleans | 4.6% | 5.1% | 6.4% | 7.0% | 6.4% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.7% | 6.9% | 9.5% | 9.8% | 9.3% | 9.8% | 9.3% | 7.7% | 6.4% | 5.8% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 8.1% | 5.2% |
| Seneca | 4.1% | 4.3% | 5.5% | 5.5% | 5.3% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 5.4% | 7.7% | 8.4% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 3.8% | 3.7% | 7.8% | 4.7% |
| Wayne | 3.8% | 4.6% | 6.3% | 6.0% | 5.6% | 4.9% | 4.7% | 4.6% | 5.8% | 8.5% | 9.0% | 8.5% | 8.7% | 7.8% | 6.2% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 4.9% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 7.1% | 4.5% |
| Wyoming | 4.7% | 4.9% | 5.8% | 6.1% | 6.3% | 5.3% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 6.1% | 9.1% | 9.6% | 8.8% | 9.0% | 8.1% | 6.6% | 5.7% | 5.4% | 5.6% | 4.6% | 4.2% | 7.2% | 4.5% |
| Yates | 3.7% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.8% | 6.9% | 7.5% | 7.6% | 7.9% | 7.0% | 5.7% | 5.0% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 3.7% | 3.6% | 6.3% | 3.8% |
| Monroe County Local Areas | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYS | 413,004 | 445,991 | 576,533 | 593,856 | 543,880 | 469,312 | 429,417 | 422,736 | 519,829 | 810,105 | 839,690 | 796,090 | 827,516 | 752,157 | 598,239 | 500,530 | 464,155 | 455,420 | 401,776 | 377,586 | 943,756 | 655,178 |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 201,970 | 223,954 | 278,302 | 287,921 | 282,524 | 254,538 | 242,323 | 235,145 | 299,166 | 441,326 | 457,950 | 433,237 | 448,616 | 394,208 | 309,017 | 272,160 | 253,983 | 261,562 | 226,080 | 212,424 | 434,860 | 256,814 |
| Region | 22,564 | 25,799 | 33,913 | 34,658 | 32,972 | 28,944 | 27,673 | 27,115 | 33,873 | 49,505 | 50,878 | 47,371 | 49,048 | 43,630 | 34,551 | 30,364 | 28,265 | 29,076 | 25,138 | 23,721 | 45,658 | 28,225 |
| Monroe | 13,190 | 15,383 | 20,226 | 20,757 | 19,590 | 17,123 | 16,319 | 16,166 | 20,285 | 29,977 | 30,995 | 28,937 | 30,039 | 26,779 | 21,273 | 18,632 | 17,377 | 18,085 | 15,679 | 14,814 | 29,874 | 18,619 |
| Surrounding Counties | 9,374 | 10,416 | 13,687 | 13,901 | 13,382 | 11,821 | 11,354 | 10,949 | 13,588 | 19,528 | 19,883 | 18,434 | 19,009 | 16,851 | 13,278 | 11,732 | 10,888 | 10,991 | 9,459 | 8,907 | 15,784 | 9,606 |
| Genesee | 1,281 | 1,387 | 1,767 | 1,840 | 1,855 | 1,596 | 1,515 | 1,466 | 1,846 | 2,567 | 2,599 | 2,435 | 2,476 | 2,143 | 1,676 | 1,500 | 1,387 | 1,428 | 1,257 | 1,145 | 2,087 | 1,244 |
| Livingston | 1,325 | 1,427 | 1,890 | 1,987 | 1,926 | 1,636 | 1,580 | 1,550 | 1,896 | 2,746 | 2,704 | 2,460 | 2,551 | 2,296 | 1,806 | 1,652 | 1,561 | 1,559 | 1,347 | 1,280 | 2,065 | 1,288 |
| Ontario | 1,915 | 2,159 | 2,863 | 2,888 | 2,793 | 2,560 | 2,477 | 2,311 | 2,882 | 4,201 | 4,279 | 3,989 | 4,130 | 3,603 | 2,889 | 2,616 | 2,417 | 2,488 | 2,208 | 2,115 | 3,871 | 2,340 |
| Orleans | 937 | 1,026 | 1,276 | 1,401 | 1,276 | 1,125 | 1,122 | 1,107 | 1,333 | 1,835 | 1,875 | 1,754 | 1,853 | 1,743 | 1,393 | 1,144 | 1,033 | 1,047 | 881 | 814 | 1,397 | 876 |
| Seneca | 676 | 709 | 933 | 941 | 908 | 808 | 777 | 742 | 929 | 1,326 | 1,374 | 1,287 | 1,312 | 1,131 | 881 | 816 | 751 | 739 | 630 | 602 | 1,211 | 708 |
| Wayne | 1,844 | 2,249 | 3,113 | 2,927 | 2,702 | 2,407 | 2,269 | 2,206 | 2,764 | 4,032 | 4,261 | 3,932 | 4,039 | 3,568 | 2,762 | 2,373 | 2,231 | 2,197 | 1,841 | 1,734 | 3,100 | 1,911 |
| Wyoming | 951 | 999 | 1,226 | 1,291 | 1,322 | 1,128 | 1,064 | 1,030 | 1,303 | 1,914 | 1,869 | 1,663 | 1,693 | 1,528 | 1,205 | 1,043 | 982 | 1,017 | 844 | 780 | 1,315 | 801 |
| Yates | 445 | 460 | 619 | 626 | 600 | 561 | 550 | 537 | 635 | 907 | 922 | 914 | 955 | 839 | 666 | 588 | 526 | 516 | 451 | 437 | 738 | 438 |
| Monroe County Local Areas | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Worse than NYS by 10% or more
Up to 10% worse than NYS
Equal to or better than NYS| INDICATORS - Grouped by Topic | REGIONAL VALUE | YEAR | NYS COMPARISON | TREND | REGION |
|---|
Worse than NYS by 10% or more Up to 10% worse than NYS Equal to or better than NYS
Children & Youth
Community Vitality
Demographics
Economic Security
Economy
Education
Health
Housing
Public Safety
