New York State’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to 6.7%, its lowest level since December 2008, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In addition, the state’s private sector job count grew by 2,500 in April 2014. This was New York State’s 17th consecutive monthly gain in private sector jobs, which has raised the state’s overall private sector job count to 7,543,000, an all-time high. The 17-month streak is the longest since at least 1990, as far as records go back.

Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 440,400 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 35 of the past 40 months. New York remains one of only 17 states to have regained all of the private sector jobs lost during the recession.

The drop in the state’s unemployment rate was accompanied by a decline in the number of unemployed New Yorkers. Between March and April 2014, the total number of unemployed state residents fell by 20,100 to 642,800, its lowest level since November 2008.

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.

“New York State’s economy continued to grow in April 2014 as it added 2,500 private sector jobs. This marked the 17th consecutive month of private sector employment gains. In addition, the state’s jobless rate and the number of unemployed state residents in April reached their lowest levels since late 2008,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, March 2014 - April 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 in March-April 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 fell from 6.9% in March 2014 to 6.7% in April 2014. The number of unemployed New Yorkers also decreased over the month -- from 662,900 in March 2014 to 642,800 in April 2014.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

Job highlights since April 2013:

• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 1.6% over the past year. Downstate’s private sector job growth was most rapid in New York City (+1.9%) 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 (+0.5%) and in counties outside of metro areas (+0.3%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas:
  • Kingston (+3.1%)
  • Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (+2.2%)
  • New York City (+1.9%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+1.3%)
• The Ithaca (-1.0%), Elmira (-0.6%), Glens Falls (-0.5%), Binghamton (-0.4%), and Syracuse (-0.4%) metro areas lost private sector jobs between April 2013 and April 2014.

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

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

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since April 2013:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+32,200) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+26,000), especially ambulatory health care services (+18,400).
• Trade, transportation and utilities had the second largest increase in jobs (+22,400) between April 2013 and April 2014. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in retail trade (+18,200).
• The third largest employment increase over the past year was registered in professional and business services (+19,900), with sector gains focused in professional, scientific and technical services (+11,200), and administrative and support services (+7,800).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since April 2013:

• Over the past year, manufacturing lost more jobs (-5,900) than any other major industry sector. Manufacturing employment losses between April 2013 and April 2014 were split between durable goods (-3,300) and nondurable goods (-2,600).
• Between April 2013 and April 2014, government sector job losses (-4,000) were greatest at the federal (-1,700) and state (-1,600) levels.

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included April 12, 2014, there were 172,657 people (including 159,449 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 25% of the total unemployed in the state in April 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.

See State and Area Job Data (opens in new window)
See Labor Market Overview (opens in new window)
See Jobs and Unemployment Fact Sheet (opens in new window)