Local unemployment rates were down locally in May, state officials reported.

The New York State Department of Labor this week released preliminary local area unemployment rates for May, with lower rates recorded in both Allegany and Cattaraugus counties.

The Cattaraugus County unemployment rate was 3.2% in May, down from 3.5% in April and 3.6% in May 2024. The labor force increased by 200 to 32,000 in May, while the number of employed rose 200 to 30,900 and the number of unemployed dropped 100 to 1,000.

The Allegany County unemployment rate was 3.4% in May, down from 3.5% in April and 3.9% in May 2024. The labor force decreased by 300 May to 18,600, while the number of employed declined 200 to 18,000 and the number of unemployed dropped 100 to 600.

All rates come from surveys and methods created by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the State’s area unemployment rates rely in part on the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts around 2,800 state households each month. The rates are not adjusted for seasonal variations — with rates typically peaking in January or February. Allegany County’s unemployment peaked this year in January at 5.5%, while the Cattaraugus County rate peaked in February at 5.3%.

THE STATE’S JOBLESS rate dropped from 3.7% in April to 3.5% in May, compared to 4% in May 2024. The labor force declined about 58,000 to 9.82 million, while the number of employed declined about 40,800 to 9.47 million and the number of unemployed declined 17,000 to 343,700.

The lowest unemployment rate was 2.3% in Saratoga County in the Capital District region, followed by 2.4% in Yates County in the Finger Lakes and 2.5% in Columbia, Genesee and Putnam counties. The highest unemployment rate in the state was 5.8% in Bronx County in New York City. The highest outside of the city was 4% in Hamilton County in the North Country, followed by 3.9% recorded in St. Lawrence County in the North Country.

ON TUESDAY, BLS officials reported the national unemployment rate was 4.2% — the same as in April — but up from 4% in May 2024. Unemployment rates were higher in May in three states, while lower in Indiana and New York compared to the month before. The lowest rate was in South Dakota, at 1.8%, while Nevada had the highest rate at 5.5%.