Unemployment Rate Drops in City

New York, NY —

The city's unemployment rate has fallen to 10 percent, matching the national unemployment rate. That's according to new state labor department figures, which show the state's jobless rate improving from 9 percent in October, to 8.6 percent last month.

Bruce Herman, deputy commissioner of the state's labor department, says even though the latest numbers are encouraging, there's not enough data to suggest an economic recovery. "What we're concerned about is the magnitude of job loss over the past year, that has put the state and New York City in a pretty deep hole, and what can be done to assist the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that are still unemployed," Herman says.

In November, city jobs were lost in the areas of construction, publishing, and in museums. On the other hand, jobs were added in the city's education, accounting, and retail sectors.

The state fared better than the city from October to November, but the unemployment rate dropped from 9 to 8.6 percent.

The financial-services industry has shed the greatest number of jobs this year.