New York State’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.4% to 7.1% in December 2013, its lowest level since January 2009, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. Since only October, the state’s jobless rate has dropped by 0.6 percentage points. New York State, which makes up about 6.5% of the nation’s jobs, accounted for 12% of private sector job growth nationally.

During December, the state’s economy added 10,400 private sector jobs. This raised New York State’s private sector job count to 7,503,700, an all-time high. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 390,600 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 31 of the past 36 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 Empire State’s economy continued to provide us with good news in December 2013. First, the state’s unemployment rate improved in December, falling to 7.1%, its lowest level since January 2009. In addition, our state’s private sector job count climbed by 10,400 to 7,503,700, reaching another all-time high," 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, December 2012 versus December 2013.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, November 2013 - December 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 November and December 2013.

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 7.4% in November 2013 to 7.1% in December 2013, reaching its lowest level since January 2009.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers also decreased over the month -- from 715,700 in November 2013 to 681,100 in December 2013, its lowest level since December 2008.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

Job highlights since December 2012:

• Since December 2012, the number of private sector jobs in New York State increased by 109,900, or 1.5%.
• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.6% over the past year. Downstate's private sector job growth was most rapid in New York City (+2.8%) and Nassau-Suffolk (+2.5%).
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.6% over the past year. The Upstate region's private sector job growth was centered within its metro areas (+0.7%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas in the state:
  • New York City (+2.8%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+2.5%)
  • Glens Falls (+2.3%)
  • Utica-Rome (+1.7%)
  • Syracuse (+1.5%)
• Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (-2.0 %) and Ithaca (-0.5%) were the only metro areas in the state to lose private sector jobs between December 2012 and December 2013.

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

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

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since December 2012:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+52,300) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+36,000), especially ambulatory health care services (+24,000).
• Trade, transportation and utilities had the second largest increase in jobs (+35,900) between December 2012 and December 2013. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in retail trade (+25,000).
• The third largest employment increase over the past year was registered in leisure and hospitality (+14,200), with sector gains focused in accommodation and food services (+20,400).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since December 2012:

• Over the past year, government lost more jobs (-13,200) than any other sector in the state. Government employment losses between December 2012 and December 2013 were largest at the local level (-8,800), especially local elementary and secondary schools (-7,100).
• Between December 2012 and December 2013, manufacturing sector job losses (-8,700) were greatest in durable goods (-5,500), especially in computer and electronic products (-2,100).

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

For New York State, during the week that included December 5, 2013, there were 298,241 people (including 273,226 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 40% of the total unemployed in the state in December 2013.

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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See Jobs and Unemployment Fact Sheet (opens in new window)