New York State’s private sector job count grew by 12,800, or 0.2%, in February 2014, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. This latest monthly gain raised New York State’s private sector job count to 7,543,100, an all-time high. The state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8%, which is a five-year low. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 440,500 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 33 of the past 38 months.

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 New York State economy continued its upward trend, adding 12,800 private sector jobs in February 2014. The state’s jobless rate held steady and remained at a five-year low,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

Note: Seasonally adjusted data are used to provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. Non-seasonally adjusted data are valuable in year-to-year comparisons of the same month; for example, February 2013 versus February 2014.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, January 2014 - February 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 January 2014 and February 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 was unchanged at 6.8% in February 2014, remaining at its lowest level since December 2008.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers increased over the month -- from 649,000 in January 2014 to 656,000 in February 2014.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

Job highlights since February 2013:

• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.2% over the past year. Downstate’s private sector job growth was most rapid in New York City (+2.6%) and Nassau-Suffolk (+1.7%).
• 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 (+0.2%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas:
  • Kingston (+3.5%)
  • New York City (+2.6%)
  • Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (+2.6%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+1.7%)
  • Buffalo-Niagara Falls (+1.1%)
• The Elmira (-2.5%), Ithaca (-0.8%) and Binghamton (-0.6%) metro areas lost private sector jobs between February 2013 and February 2014.

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

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

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since February 2013:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+40,800) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+32,100), especially ambulatory health care services (+21,900).
• Trade, transportation and utilities had the second largest increase in jobs (+27,500) between February 2013 and February 2014. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in wholesale and retail trade (+19,500).
• The third largest employment increase over the past year was registered in professional and business services (+25,300), with sector gains focused in administrative and support services (+13,100), and professional, scientific and technical services (+12,000).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since February 2013:

• Over the past year, government lost more jobs (-5,100) than any other major industry sector. Government employment losses between February 2013 and February 2014 were largest at the federal level (-2,800).
• Between February 2013 and February 2014, manufacturing sector job losses (-3,800) were greatest in durable goods (-2,800).

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included February 12, 2014, there were 214,971 people (including 199,154 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 30% of the total unemployed in the state in February 2014.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is a 100% federally funded program that provides benefits to individuals who have exhausted regular state benefits. The EUC program was created on June 30, 2008, and has been modified several times. The EUC program expired on December 29, 2013. To date, Congress has not passed any further extensions to reauthorize the EUC program. Currently, beneficiaries only receive up to 26 weeks of benefits under the regular Unemployment Insurance program. Nationally, there were approximately 1.3 million people impacted by the expiration of this program. In New York State, the expiration of this program impacted 102,700 state residents.

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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