Tompkins County, NY jobs, unemployment and layoffs

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Show me jobs near meTompkins County economy
4.4%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.1% the month before
49,562
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
102,879
people in Tompkins County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$73,012
median household income
Source: Census ACS
59%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Where Tompkins County ranks
Where Tompkins County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #3Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Northeast59% · of 100
- #10Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Mid-Atlantic59% · of 100
- #14Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers59% · of 100
- #19Counties with the most job openings per unemployed person in the Northeast5 per 100 · of 51
Tompkins County outlook: Cooling
Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.
- Private-sector jobs up 0.1% from 2022 to 2025
- Population down 1.4% from 2020 to 2025
- Unemployment 4.4%, up 0.3 points from a year ago
- Sectors adding the most jobs: transportation & warehousing (+410 jobs)
- Sectors losing the most jobs: manufacturing (−300 jobs)
Learn and get funded in Tompkins County
- Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
- Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
- Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
- Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.
Tompkins County layoffs
No layoff notices naming Tompkins County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Tompkins County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- Ithaca College29 open roles
- Cornell University16 open roles
- Tompkins Bank & Trust9 open roles
- Top Echelon Network (recruiter member boards)3 open roles
- Arthur J. Gallagher2 open roles
- Brookdale Senior Living2 open roles
- Confidential2 open roles
- Food Management Search2 open roles
- Gallagher2 open roles
- Gallagher Bassett2 open roles
Largest employers headquartered in Tompkins County
- Cornell University5,001–20,000 employees
Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.
Colleges in Tompkins County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | Ithaca | Private non-profit 4-year | 20,000+ |
| Ithaca College | Ithaca | Private non-profit 4-year | 1,000–4,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Tompkins County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
Laid off in New York? How to file for unemployment in New York (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).
Tompkins Workforce New York Career Center - Ithaca
Ithaca · Comprehensive · 607-272-7570
M-F: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Cities in Tompkins County
Other New York counties
Laid off or looking for work in Tompkins County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from New York’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. New York unemployment benefits and severance rules.
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