NY Unemployment Rises to 5.8 percent

ALBANY — New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in August from 5.2% in July, even as private-sector employers added 3,000 jobs.

The state Labor Department says it was the largest month-to-month increase in the unemployment rate since January 1991.

New York City's unemployment rate rose even more sharply, coming in at 5.8% in August compared with 5% in July. That was the largest monthly increase since 1976.

At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose to 6.1% from 5.7%.

Over the past year, the Labor Department says the state added a total of 39,700 jobs, with education, health care tourism, and government posting the biggest gains, and the manufacturing, finance, and construction industries shedding jobs.