Genesee County's unemployment rate is back over 10 percent for July after a small dip to 9.5 percent in June.
The 2020 rate of 10.6 percent is 7 percentage points higher than it was a year ago.
Genesee County's unemployment rate had mostly stay between 6 percent and 3 percent, depending on the time of year, going back to 2015, and then the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hit and many people started to shelter in place at the same time the government severely restricted business activity.
In March, the month the first lockdown orders were issued, the county's unemployment rate was 4.9 percent. In April, it jumped to 14.4 percent, then fell to 10.1 percent in May.
A year ago in July, it was 3.5 percent.
One big factor in the local unemployment numbers is the county's largest seasonal employer, Darien Lake Theme Park, has not been allowed to reopen. The park employs more than 1,000 people every summer.
Another significant local employer that remains closed is Batavia Downs, which this time of year would have at least 450 people on the workforce.
There are currently 3,200 work-eligible people living in Genesee County who do not have jobs. A year ago, there were 1,100 people looking for work who reported they couldn't find a job that suited their qualifications.
At the hight of the previous recession. the high July number for unemployed people was 2,400.
