New York's jobless rate ticked upward in January despite the economy adding more than 29,000 jobs, the state Department of Labor on Thursday reported. 

The state's unemployment rate increased from 8.7% to 8.8% as the economic shockwave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reverberate. The national unemployment rate in January stood at 6.3%.

About 29,400 private sector jobs were added that month in New York. 

The pandemic has continued to batter the economy over the last year. Statewide unemployment in January of last year stood at 3.8%. But the pandemic, a subsequent closure of many gathering places like restaurants and theaters 12 months ago, led to a spike in unemployment that is still yet to recover. 

The crisis has been especially hard on New York City, the engine of the state's overall economy, as service, hospitality, and tourism sector jobs have been especially hard hit by the recession. 

Unemployment increased in New York City between December and January, growing from 12% to 12.6%. Outside of the city, the rate decreased from 6.3% to 6.1%, state officials said. 

Over the last year, New York state's economy has shed more than 1 million jobs — a steeper drop than the nation as a whole.