New York state's unemployment rate rose to 9 percent in August, while the Buffalo Niagara region came in a little lower at 8.4 percent, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The state's jobless rate has not been that high since April of 1983.

For the Buffalo area, unemployment surged from a year ago; the August 2008 rate was 5.8 percent. In the year-over-year period, the region, consisting of Erie and Niagara counties, lost 12,400 private-sector jobs, or 2.7 percent. The nonfarm job loss was 13,800, or 2.5 percent.

In Rochester, the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August, compared with 5.5 percent a year ago and 8.2 percent in July. In the past year, that market has lost 10,300 private-sector jobs, or 2.3 percent, while nonfarm jobs are down by 10,500, or 2.0 percent.

"Our latest labor-market report indicates that employers in New York state cut jobs at a more modest pace than employers nationwide, and our statewide unemployment rate remained below the nation's rate. However, the number of unemployed New Yorkers in August reached its highest recorded level," said a statement from Peter Neenan, director of the state DOL's Division of Research and Statistics.

Meanwhile, the monthly Spherion Employment Report, which measures worker confidence across New York, reached a new high for 2009, increasing 8.9 points to 55.6 in August.

The New York Employee Confidence Index was buoyed by more workers feeling confident in the strength of the economy, as well as in their ability to find a new job.

The report noted that:

• 28 percent of workers surveyed believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of 12 percentage points from July.

• 52 percent are confident in their ability to find a new job, a 12-percentage-point increase from the previous month.

• 74 percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, an increase of seven percentage points from July.

The monthly survey of New York workers is conducted by Harris Interactive of Rochester on behalf of Spherion Corp.