The unemployment rate in the Rochester area fell to 6.2 percent in January. That was down from 6.8 percent in January of a year ago. The rate for last December was 5.3 percent.
State Labor Analyst Tammy Marino says the local job market continues to see improvement.
"We have more employers that are hiring, and the hiring that we do have is spread across a number of sectors. And as a result, the local jobless rate fell to its lowest January level since before the onset of the recession."
Marino says one reason the unemployment rate has dropped, is because there are fewer people are in the local work force, as the population ages and more people retire.
Last week the state labor department says the Rochester area gained 5,000 private sector jobs in January compared to this time last year.
