The State Labor Department recently released local area unemployment rates for September, which are developed using a procedure determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.

As reported in last week’s national jobs press release, the state’s overall unemployment rate also fell from 9.1 to 8.9 percent in September 2012.

In contrast, the U.S. Department of Labor private sector job count, which is based on a survey of over 18,000 employers, increased by more than 134,000 from September 2011 to September 2012. In addition, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 3.4%, from just under 88,000 to just over 85,000 during that time period.

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