New York State’s private sector job count held steady at 7,539,300 in March 2014, an all-time high for the month, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. Over the 12-month period ending March 2014, the state’s private sector job count has climbed by 108,200, or 1.5 percent.

Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 436,700 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 33 of the past 39 months. In addition, New York remains one of only 16 states to have regained all of the private sector jobs lost during the recession.

The state’s unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1% to 6.9% in March 2014, due in part to the state’s growing labor force, which expanded by 22,900 between February and March 2014, as more state residents had confidence about finding a job.

The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more information becomes available the following month. The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 households in the state.

“The state’s economy held steady in March 2014. Looking over the past year, the state has added more than 100,000 private sector jobs. In addition, the state’s jobless rate has declined by 1.0 percentage point over the past 12 months, which is a steeper rate drop than in the nation as a whole over the same time frame,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, February 2014 - March 2014

The table below compares the over-the-month change in total nonfarm and private sector jobs in the United States and New York State between February 2014 and March 2014.

2) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):

The state’s unemployment rate is calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, using a statistical regression model that primarily uses the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households in New York State. The statewide rate rose from 6.8% in February 2014 to 6.9% in March 2014.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers increased over the month -- from 655,700 in February 2014 to 663,100 in March 2014.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

U.S., New York State, Major Regions, and Metro Areas: March 2013 - March 2014

The table that follows compares the over-the-year change in total nonfarm and private sector jobs that occurred in the United States, New York State, the Upstate and Downstate regions, and metro areas in the state between March 2013 and March 2014.

Job highlights since March 2013:

• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 1.9% over the past year. Downstate’s private sector job growth was most rapid in New York City (+2.3%) and Nassau-Suffolk (+1.3%).
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.5% over the past year. Private sector job growth occurred in both the region’s metro areas (+0.6%) and in counties outside of metro areas (+0.1%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas:
  • Kingston (+3.7%)
  • New York City (+2.3%)
  • Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (+2.3%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+1.3%)
• The Elmira (-1.9%), Ithaca (-1.6%), Syracuse (-0.5%), and Binghamton (-0.1%) metro areas lost private sector jobs between March 2013 and March 2014.

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

Change in jobs by major industry sector, March 2013 – March 2014

The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State occurring between March 2013 and March 2014.

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since March 2013:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+41,200) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+32,900), especially ambulatory health care services (+21,000).
• Professional and business services had the second largest increase in jobs (+24,400) between March 2013 and March 2014. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in administrative and support services (+12,500), and professional, scientific and technical services (+11,700).
• The third largest employment increase over the past year was registered in leisure and hospitality (+22,700), with sector gains focused in accommodation and food services (+24,300), especially food services and drinking places (+22,000).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since March 2013:

• Over the past year, manufacturing lost more jobs (-5,200) than any other major industry sector. Manufacturing employment losses between March 2013 and March 2014 were split between durable goods (-2,700) and nondurable goods (-2,500).
• Between March 2013 and March 2014, government sector job losses (-4,600) were greatest at the local (-1,700) and federal (-1,600) levels.

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included March 12, 2014, there were 204,914 people (including 190,030 who live in the state) who received benefits under the regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.

New York State residents who received Unemployment Insurance benefits made up 29% of the total unemployed in the state in March 2014.

We encourage people to use the Department's online Unemployment Insurance calculator to estimate how many weeks of benefits they may receive. See the calculator on the State Department of Labor's website, or go here: http://www.labor.ny.gov/ui/claimantinfo/uibenefitscalculator.shtm

Note: The responsibility for the production of monthly estimates of state and metro area nonfarm employment by industry moved from the Division of Research and Statistics to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), starting with the March 2011 estimates. More detailed information on the change is available on the BLS web site.

Many economic data series have a seasonal pattern, which means they tend to occur at the same time each year (e.g., retail jobs usually increase in December). Seasonal adjustment is the process of removing seasonal effects from a data series. This is done to simplify the data so that they may be more easily interpreted and help to reveal true underlying trends. Seasonal adjustment permits comparisons of data from one month to data from any other month.

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In New York State, jobs data by industry come from a monthly survey of 18,000 business establishments. Jobs data by industry do not include agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, or domestic workers in private households.

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