New York's unemployment rate dropped in September from 4.7% to 4.3% driven in large part by New York City, which has struggled to grow jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The state Department of Labor on Thursday announced New York had added 17,400 private-sector jobs last month, increasing by 0.2% — roughly the same rate across the country. 

The unemployment rate improved in New York City, which has remained higher than the rest of the state as a whole as well as the country. New York statewide lost 2 million jobs at the height of the pandemic-related shutdown of public gathering areas, schools and businesses. 

New York City's jobless rate fell from 6.6% to 5.6% between August and September. The unemployment rate in the rest of New York ticked upward slightly from 3.2% to 3.3%. 

Overall, the number of unemployed people in New York decreased from 445,100 in August to 40,700. 

The jobs numbers come as the economy is being closely watched for signs of a downturn amid high inflation and a rollercoaster on Wall Street.