NEW YORK STATE -- The State Labor Department has released local unemployment rates for the past year.

According to the data, New York State saw an increase in the number of people who began new employment in the past 12 months. However, the unemployment rate in Syracuse rose from 8.2 percent in July 2011 to nine percent in July 2012.

The counties with the lowest unemployment rate in the state are Hamilton County with 5.3 percent and Tompkins County coming in second with seven percent.

And among the highest rates were Montgomery County with 10.-9 percent and St. Lawrence County with 11.1.

The nation as a whole saw a point four percent increase in the number of people who entered the work force since last year.