Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics the unemployment rate in New York continues to climb, reaching 15.9 percent in July, despite the number of private sector jobs added during the past month, the state Department of Labor reported August 20. The state reported an increase of 244,200 jobs, a 3.6 percent increase in July. But issues remain as the coronavirus pandemic-induced recession continues. Unemployment outside of New York City increased from June to July, from 12.2 percent to 13.1 percent, but in New York City, the rate dropped slightly from 20.3 percent to 19.8 percent. The state gradually began to reopen businesses and workplaces in the spring after a virtual shutdown of economic activity in March in an effort to halt the spread of the virus. The Department of Labor pointed to the private-sector job growth as a good thing as it grew by 3.6 percent, a faster rate last month than in the rest of the country. The U.S. unemployment rate overall was 10.2 percent in July. The job count from this time last year is down in New York by 14.2 percent, an indication that recovery of lost jobs will likely prove difficult. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.