State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that the number of jobs in metro Albany grew in October.

The area preliminarily posted  62,900 jobs in October, up by 1.1 percent.  The job growth came mostly in the private sector’s service industries and in local government. While metro Albany gained jobs in October, the total number of jobs was down by 400 from 63,300 a year earlier.

The number of employed residents rose by 181 to 64,117. From October a year ago, the number of employed residents was up by 702 from 63,415.

“Metro Albany is a growing job market and is producing some strong economic numbers,” Butler said. “This is a continuation of a good year for metro Albany.”

Metro Albany’s labor force, which includes the total number of residents with jobs and those unemployed but looking for work, rose to 67,607, up by 243 in October. The labor force is down by 124 since October 2016.

The October unemployment rate, at 5.2 percent, was up slightly from 5.1 percent in September. The rate rose as unemployment increased by 62 to 3,490. Even so, the October rate compares favorably to last October when the rate was 6.4 percent.

Unemployment claims were up by 3.8 percent to 383. Claims were up in administrative and support services. When compared to last October, claims were down by 7.5 percent, from 414.

“While claims are up for the month, they remain lower than they were at this time last year,” Butler noted. “The trend is headed in the right direction. That’s always going to be more important than any single month.”