UTICA/ROME, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Utica/Rome area is actually bucking both national and state trends in the latest unemployment numbers released Thursday.

New York State is now suffering its highest unemployment rate in 26 years. The state number rose almost a half of a percent from July to August going from 8.6% to 9%.

Nationally, unemployment rose from 9.4% in July to
9.7% in August.

Year-to-year numbers tell a different tale. At this point last year, the state's unemployment rate stood at 5.7%, and the nation's at 6.2%.

Unemployment actually fell locally, albeit modestly. In the Utica/Rome area, the July number was 7.2%, falling to 7.1% in August. The 7.1% unemployment rate is down significantly from the area's peak in February, 2008, rate of 8.8%