http://www.EmploymentCrossing.com <br /><br />Unemployment in New York State rose to 5.8 percent in August, a significant increase from 5.2 percent in July. <br /><br />The state Labor Department says it was the largest month-to-month increase in unemployment in 17 years. <br /><br />New York City’s jobless rate rose even more sharply, up to 5.8 percent from 5.0 percent in July – the largest increase since the Gerald Ford Administration. Many of the layoffs were in the self-destructing financial sector, one of the city’s biggest employers and the provider of nearly one-fourth of its annual wages and salaries. <br /><br />The national unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, from 5.7 percent, during the same period. New York State ranks 24th in unemployment nationally. <br /><br />In the past year, New York created 40,000 jobs, largely in education, health care tourism, and government.
