Utica Rome Unemployment Rate Down In July

Preliminary area unemployment rates for the month of July are out.

According to the New York State Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in the Utica-Rome area was 6.3% last month.

That's down from 7.5% in July of 2013.

The state jobless rate was 6.6% in July, its lowest level since November 2008.

The Department of Labor says the state's private sector job count increased by over 140,000 July 2013 to July 2014.