NY State Unemployment Rate at Lowest Level in Five Years

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The state Labor Department says New York's unemployment rate decreased from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent in December, its lowest level since January 2009.

The Labor Department said in a report Thursday that the state's economy added 10,400 private sector jobs in December, raising the private sector job count to an all-time high of 7,503,700.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased from 715,700 in November to 681,100 in December, its lowest level since December 2008.