WATERTOWN — Lewis County had the second-highest unemployment rate of any of the 62 counties in the state in February, while Jefferson County recorded the fourth-highest rate, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor.
Lewis County’s rate for the month was 6.8%, while Jefferson County saw a rate of 6.1%. Only Hamilton County at 7.7% had a higher rate than Lewis County, while Bronx County had a rate of 6.3%, slightly above Jefferson County.
The Watertown-Fort Drum metropolitan area’s rate was also the highest among 15 metropolitan areas tracked by the state.
Lewis County’s rate in February crept up a bit from the 6.7% it had seen January, but was nearly a full percentage point above the 5.9% it experienced in February 2023. Jefferson County’s rate in February was also slightly above the 6% it had in January, but well up from the 5.4% it recorded in February a year ago.
St. Lawrence County’s rate also rose year over year, from 4.8% in February 2023 to 5.4% in February 2024. The county’s rate in February, however, dropped from the 5.7% rate seen in January.
Statewide, the rate was 4.5% in February, slightly below the 4.6% recorded in February 2023 and slightly above the 4.4% in January.
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