Unemployment Down in NYC, But Brooklyn Still Above U.S. Average

New state Labor Department figures show that unemployment rates across New York City were lower in September than they were a year ago.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the new numbers show that unemployment rate reached 10 percent in June, and have been slowing since August. The city’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent last month.

“It’s good to see the [borough] rates down over the year,” James Brown, an economist at the Labor Department told the paper.

Unfortunately, the city still has higher unemployment rates than the national average, which was 7.8 percent last month. Only Manhattan (7.5 percent) and Queens (7.8 percent) had numbers lower than or on par with the national average. Brooklyn saw a high 9.4 percent unemployment, and the Bronx posted a staggering 12.1 percent.

Last week, the Journal reported that while unemployment is slowing in the city, most of the jobs created are in low-wage areas such as retail, restaurants and hotels.

Kathryn Wylde, of Partnership for New York City, told the paper that these jobs will be helpful for moving people out of poverty, but added that “those will not be the kind of jobs we need to build our middle class and to grow our tax revenues.”