Binghamton's unemployment rate for May was 5.7%. that's down from 6.1 percent in May of 2014.


However, not all of the news was good as the number of both employed and unemployed workers dropped over the past year, signifying a drop in the overall workforce.


State Labor Analyst Christian Harris says some have left the area to seek jobs.


However he also anticipates that seasonal jobs should bolster the numbers down the road.


"We're down about 1,000 private sector jobs, year over year for the Binghamton Metro area, which is Broome and Tioga Counties, these are early estimates, so I think they're kind of short. The current sampling may not be representing all that is going on, more specifically leisure and hospitality."


Among the worst-performing sectors locally over the past year were information, manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality.


The best-performing sector was local government education.


New York State's rate remains slightly below the national unemployment rate of 5.5% for the month of May.