Unemployment in New York State rose to 5.8% in August, a significant increase from its level of 5.2% in July.
The state Labor Department says it was the largest month-to-month increase in unemployment in 17 years.
New York City’s jobless rate rose even more sharply, up to 5.8% from five percent in July -- the largest increase since the Gerald Ford Administration. Many of the layoffs were in the self-destructing financial sector, one of the city’s biggest employers and the provider of nearly one-fourth of its annual wages and salaries.
The national unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, up from 5.7%, during the same period. New York State ranks 24th in unemployment nationally.