Unemployment for the first time has dropped statewide and in New York City to the low levels recorded before the 2001 terrorist attacks, state Labor Department records showed yesterday.

State unemployment dropped to 5.6% in August, down from 5.9% in July, hitting the lowest level since the effects of the terrorist attacks took hold in December 2001.

New York City’s unemployment rate was 6.7% in August, down from 7.5% in July. The August rate was the lowest since September 2001.

“We’re headed right down to where we were pre-September 11,” said state Labor Department spokesman Robert Lillpopp. “We’re overcoming the effects of the World Trade Center disaster and the national recession.”

The August rate also reflects hiring in New York to prepare for and hold the Republican National Convention. Many of those jobs are in the leisure and hospitality sector, where jobs grew 5.9% statewide. That was one of the fastest growing sectors in August, the data showed.

The unemployment rate translates to about 512,000 New Yorkers unemployed in August, or nearly 50,000 fewer people than in July and nearly 70,000 fewer than one year ago, according to the statistics.

But those numbers don’t account for everyone who was jobless. There were also an estimated 17,000 people whose unemployment benefits expired in the 12 months ending in August. Mr. Lillpopp said many of them may now have jobs because some people tend to work harder to land jobs once their unemployment checks end after a year.

Between August 2002 and August of last year, about 25,000 New Yorkers saw their benefits expire. In the 12 months before the September 11, 2001, attacks, about 16,700 New Yorkers’ unemployment benefits expired.

There is no estimate for the total number of New Yorkers unemployed.

Statewide, private-sector employment grew for the 12th straight month, adding 6,100 jobs. That reflects growth of 77,100 jobs, or 0.1% of the work force, according to the data.

The rate of gains in private sector jobs matched the national average.

There were 48,600 new jobs in New York City for an increase of 1.7%; a 1.2% rise (18,500 jobs) in the New York City suburbs, and a 0.4% (10,000) rise in jobs upstate, said Stephan Kagann, an economist for the Pataki administration.

The state Business Council, however, said New York’s job-growth rate matching the nation’s growth is “a good start, but not much more.”

“New York state has been behind the nation for so long that it needs to try to sustain that kind of performance for a long time before we see a difference in our economy,” said the council’s Matthew Maguire.

He said New York has trailed the nation’s job growth for several years, with the exception of the late 1990s, after New York cut taxes in Gov. Pataki’s first term.

The data also show:

* Employment grew 3.2% in retailing, 5% in publishing, and 2.7% in business and professional services. Employment agencies and temporary help agencies raised hiring 16.2% in August. The biggest single hit was manufacturing in Rochester.

* The highest unemployment rate was in the Bronx at 8.6%, down from 9.6% in July; the highest rate outside New York City was St. Lawrence County at 6.7%, down from 7.2%.

* The lowest rate was in Tompkins County at 2.4%, down from 2.6%. Saratoga and Hamilton counties also posted unemployment rates under 3%. August is when Saratoga Race Course, a major seasonal employer, operates; and Hamilton County is in the heart of the Adirondacks’ busiest tourism area.