New York City reports 20% jobless rate in July

ALBANY -- New York City’s unemployment rate remained near 20% in July as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic continue to ravage the Big Apple’s economy.

The city’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 19.8% in July, a decrease of 0.5% from June and a rise of 15.9% from a year earlier, according to state Department of Labor statistics released Tuesday.

Statewide the jobless rate was 15.9%.

The unemployment rate rose slightly in the Bronx, one of the boroughs worst hit by the coronavirus crisis, from 24.7% in June to 24.9% in July.

Businesses have slowly reopened across the city following the height of the COVID-19 outbreak that brought life to a standstill as shops, offices, schools and restaurants shuttered to stem the spread.

Still, the city lost 646,100 private sector jobs compared to July 2019, with leisure and hospitality industries being the hardest hit with 249,700 lost jobs, according to the Labor Department

The grim numbers come a day after the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a lost wages grant for the state which will fund an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits to those eligible.

The additional funds were made available by President Trump after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to reach a deal to extend the extra $600 in benefits being paid out to people left jobless by the pandemic.

After initially panning the FEMA program due to a requirement that states pay an additional $100 a week per person, Gov. Cuomo agreed to have the state administer the additional funds.

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