New York’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in November from 5.7 percent in October as private-sector employers cut 23,500 jobs.

The state Labor Department said Thursday that was the largest decline in private-sector jobs in seven years and the highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate since April 2004.

New York City’s unemployment rate rose even more sharply last month, coming in at 6.3 percent compared with 5.7 percent in October, driven largely by the meltdown on Wall Street that has prompted thousands of job cuts.

About 15,900 employees at Wall Street firms and other financial institutions lost their jobs last month as the investment industry continued to struggle amid a worsening recession.

(Source: CBS2 HD)