Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that the statewide unemployment rate declined to below five percent in February, as the state economy slowly recovers the jobs lost during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. The state Department of Labor, on March 24, announced the private-sector unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent to 4.9 percent statewide. The private-sector job count increased in the state by [point] 5 percent and added 39,800 jobs. New York City has struggled with an unemployment rate far higher than the rest of the state and in February, some improvements were made. The city's unemployment rate dropped from 7.6 percent to 7 percent last month. Outside of New York City, the jobless rate is approaching a record low since 1976, declining from 3.6 percent to 3.4 percent, according to the Department of Labor. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.