ALBANY, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – The New York State Department of Labor released the state’s job figures for the month of March on Thursday, April 20.

According to the Department of Labor, New York State added 19,100 private sector jobs last month. That is a .2 percent increase from February and exceeds the national increase of .1%. Currently, the number of private sector jobs sits at just over 8.2 million. The number also almost equals the highest number of jobs in the state, set just before the November 2019 recession, which had just over 8.3 million jobs.

The New York State labor force was up to 9.66 million people in March. Nonfarm and private sector jobs were almost back to pre-pandemic levels, at 8.2 million and 9.7 million, respectively.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also dropped one-tenth of a percentage point, to 4.1%. That number sits just above the current national unemployment rate of 3.5%.

Closer to home, the Utica-Rome area added 2,200 nonfarm jobs in March, a 1.8% increase.