The private sector in New York added 19,600 jobs in November as the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%, the state Department of Labor on Thursday announced. 

New York's private sector job growth increased by a modest 0.2%, but matched the the nation as a whole in November. 

The state has struggled to regrow all the jobs lost in the immediate wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when closures of public gathering spaces and businesses led to about 2 million people losing their jobs. It's projected those jobs will not fully return until the midpoint of the decade. 

The state's private sector job count has increased by 3.6% over the last year since November 2021. The state's labor force has decreased by 1,000 people and its participation rate has also held steady at 60.5%. 

The national unemployment rate remained lower than New York in November at 3.7%.