In January 2016, New York State’s private sector job count increased by 14,600, or 0.2%, to 7,868,100, a new record high, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, New York State’s economy has added 773,800 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 53 of the past 61 months.

The statewide unemployment rate decreased from 5.0% in December 2015 to 4.9% in January 2016, matching the national unemployment rate in January 2016.

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 data becomes available the following month. The federal government calculates New York State’s unemployment rate based partly upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

“New York State’s upward trend in private sector jobs continued in January 2016 as we reached a new record high. Moreover, our statewide unemployment rate is now at pre-recession levels,” 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, January 2015 versus January 2016.

Jobs data are revised at the end of each year for all states and the nation as more complete information becomes available from employers’ Unemployment Insurance records. This process is called “benchmarking” and is federally mandated. For more details, see: Annual Benchmark Analysis (opens in new window).

Labor force data, including unemployment rates, are also revised at the end of each year, using methods established by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The revised labor force data show that New York State’s annual average unemployment rate fell from 6.3% in 2014 to 5.3% in 2015.

U.S. and New York State: December 2015 - January 2016

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

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 December 2015-January 2016.

2) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):

The State’s unemployment rate is calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS employs a statistical regression model that primarily uses the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month. From December 2015 to January 2016, the statewide unemployment rate decreased from 5.0% to 4.9%. The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased from 480,800 in December 2015 to 480,300 in January 2016.

U.S., New York State and Metro Areas: January 2015 - January 2016

1) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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, and metro areas within the State between January 2015 and January 2016.

Job highlights since January 2015:

• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas in New York State:
  • Kingston (+3.8%)
  • Watertown-Fort Drum (+3.8%)
  • New York City (+3.0%)
  • Orange-Rockland-Westchester (+2.1%)
  • Ithaca (+1.4%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+1.4%)
• Between January 2015 and January 2016, Rochester (-0.1%) was the only metro area in the state to lose private sector jobs.

Change in jobs by major industry sector: January 2015 – January 2016

1) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State occurring between January 2015 and January 2016.

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since January 2015:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+30,800) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector job gains were mostly in health care and social assistance (+36,500), especially ambulatory health care services (+18,500).
• The second largest employment increase over the past year occurred in professional and business services (+26,800), with sector gains centered in professional, scientific and technical services (+15,600), and administrative and support services (+11,000).
• Leisure and hospitality had the third largest increase in jobs (+14,600) between January 2015 and January 2016. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in accommodation and food services (+18,800).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since January 2015:

• Over the past 12 months, natural resources and mining was the only industry sector to lose jobs (-200) in New York State.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits: January 2016

1) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included January 12, 2016, there were 158,523 people (including 146,066 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 January 2016.

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 January). 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, payroll 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)