Between May and June 2013, New York State’s unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 7.5% -- the lowest it has been since February 2009 -- placing it below the national rate, according to preliminary figures released today by the State Department of Labor. The nation’s unemployment rate in June remained at 7.6%. In areas of the state outside of NYC, which includes all of Upstate and Long Island, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1% to 6.9%, the lowest in over four years. In addition, the number of unemployed state residents fell by 8,500 to 720,900. 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 conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

New York State’s private sector job count dipped slightly – by 6,800 or 0.1% – to 7,444,600 in June 2013. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 331,500 private sector jobs and has added jobs in 26 of the past 30 months. Additionally, over the past year New York’s economy grew by over 100,000 private sector jobs. New York remains one of only eight states in the nation to have fully recovered all of the private sector jobs lost in the recession. 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.

Monthly employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more information becomes available the following month. Total nonfarm employment for May 2013 was revised upward by 1,700. As a result, the April-May change in nonfarm jobs went from -200 to +1,500. The private sector employment estimate for May was also revised upwards by 1,700. As a result, the April-May change in private sector jobs went from +5,000 to +6,700.

"New York State’s unemployment rate continued on its recent downward trend in June 2013, falling from 7.6% to 7.5%, its lowest level in more than four years. Moreover, the state’s rate is now below the nation’s rate for the first time since December 2011," said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

Note: The data above are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data 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, June 2012 versus June 2013.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, May 2013 - June 2013

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 May and June 2013.

2) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):

The state's unemployment rate, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is calculated primarily from the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households in New York State. The statewide rate fell from 7.6% in May to 7.5% in June 2013. In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month -- from 729,400 in May 2013 to 720,900 in June 2013.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

U.S., New York State, Major Regions, and Metro Areas: June 2012 - June 2013

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 June 2012 and June 2013.

Job highlights since June 2012:

• Since June 2012, the number of private sector jobs in the state increased by 110,500, or 1.5%.
• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.3% over the past year.
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.9% over the past year.
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas in the state:
  • Glens Falls (+3.1%)
  • Kingston (+3.0%)
  • New York City (+2.3%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+2.1%)
  • Putnam-Rockland-Westchester (+2.1%)
• The only metro area in the state to lose private sector jobs between June 2012 and June 2013 was Elmira (-0.6%).

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

Change in jobs by major industry sector, June 2012 - June 2013

The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State occurring between June 2012 and June 2013.

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since June 2012:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+37,200) of any industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+29,400), especially ambulatory health care services (+14,800).
• Professional and business services added the second greatest number of jobs (+35,900) of any industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were largest in administrative and support services (+29,900) and professional, scientific and technical services (+6,200).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since June 2012:

• Over the past year, employment losses in the government sector (-16,700) were greatest at the local level (-12,600).
• Over the past year, manufacturing lost 16,700 jobs. Manufacturing job losses were concentrated in durable goods (-10,300), especially machinery manufacturing (-2,300) and computers and electronic products (-2,200).

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC):

For New York State, during the week that included June 12, 2013, there were 305,978 people (including 279,520 who live in the state) who received benefits under:

• Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) or
• Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC)

New York State residents who received Unemployment Insurance benefits made up 39% of the total unemployed in the state in June 2013.

See the table below for the maximum number of weeks available under current federal regulations.

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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