Jul. 22--By Jake Palmateer

More job seekers from single-paycheck families could be one of many factors behind June unemployment rates, the highest here since the early to mid-1990s, according to a state Department of Labor economist.

The number of people looking for work in the four-county area around Oneonta is 31 percent greater than it was a year ago, according to data from the Department of Labor.

In Otsego County, the data indicate 400 more residents were seeking jobs than in June 2007.

The statewide unemployment rate -- the percentage of the labor force actively seeking jobs -- was 5.2 percent last month. The rate rose from 4.9 percent in May and 4.4 percent in June 2007.

Higher costs for fuel and food could be pressuring more people to turn their single-paycheck families into double-paycheck families, said Christian Harris, a senior economist with the Department of Labor.

Slowdowns in the manufacturing and leisure industries also could explain higher unemployment rates, he said.

The unemployment rate for Otsego County was 5.3 percent last month, compared with 4.1 percent a year ago. The rate for Delaware County was 5.8 percent last month, compared with 4.1 percent a year ago. Chenango and Schoharie counties also had a higher unemployment rate last month than during the previous June.

"All the counties throughout the state are pretty much going in the same direction," Harris said. "We anticipate that to continue until we see a real turn in the nationwide scene."

It's the highest June unemployment rate for Otsego County since 1992, when it was 6 percent. For Delaware County, it is the highest June unemployment rate since 1995, when it was 6.1 percent.

In Otsego County, the actual number of employed residents increased from about 31,000 in June 2007 to 31,300 in June 2008, according to Department of Labor data.

Otsego County had 275 job openings in the private sector in June. In Delaware County, there were 139 job openings in the private sector that month, Harris said.

"There are definitely still job opportunities out there," he said.

Otsego County mirrors the statewide trend of having more people employed but also more people looking for work than a year ago.

However, Delaware County has about 100 fewer employed residents than it did a year ago, according to the data. At the same time, about 400 more Delaware County residents were seeking employment than were a year ago.

Statewide, the manufacturing industry has shed the most jobs, with 17,900 fewer than a year ago.

Larger-than-usual seasonal layoffs by the manufacturing firm MeadWestvaco Corp. could account for the higher unemployment rate in Delaware County, Harris said.