The State Labor Department announced on Thursday that the Jobless rate in New York City lowered slightly from 10.5% in December to 10.4% in January.

While the announcement has brought some optimism to a New York workforce that faced troubled times during the financial crisis, the Jobless rate continues to be higher than the country’s jobless rate of 9.7%.  The national jobless rate saw improvement from a reported 10% in December.

The report however did contain exceptions that did bring signs of optimism to the citizens of New York.  When employment peaked in August of 2008, the private sector saw 2 jobs lost for every 50 jobs compared to a national rate of 3 jobs lost to every 50 jobs.

While jobs often are lost in January when temporary workers are let go following the holidays, a total of 72,700 were lost, marginally lower than the previous 10 year average of approximately 107,600 jobs lost within New York City.

The Labor Department mentioned that they are optimistic about the numbers for January, as less jobs were lost in the professional and business sector.  The department has put much hope behind the report as New York City and the state look to turn the page following a difficult financial crisis.

Many have proclaimed the recession in New York City “mild” compared to several economies throughout the nation, and give much of the credit to strong numbers coming from the private sector in New York.

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