New York's unemployment rate continued its modest downward trend, falling from 4.6% to 4.5% in April, the state Department of Labor announced Thursday.

The state's economy added 23,600 jobs in the private sector that month, a 0.3% increase to more than 7.9 million jobs. The U.S. private-sector job count also grew at a similar rate.

But the tight labor market across the country is yet to be fully seen in New York. Nationwide, the unemployment rate in April stood at 3.6% as business have struggled to fill positions with a scarcity of candidates.

New York has been slower to recover its job losses from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A year, the jobless rate stood at 7.7% in April. Last month marked the fourth consecutive month in whch the unemployment rate fell.

New York lost 2 million jobs during the first months of the pandemic. But the vaccine, coupled with an easing of restrictions, has led to a roaring back of jobs even as sectors like tourism and hospitality have continued to struggle.

And New York City and the rest of the state continue to be a story of two different states. Outside of the five boroughs, the unemployment rate is lower than the national average, falling last month from March's 3.2% to 3.1%. New York City's jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.4%.