From August 2015 to August 2016, New York State’s private sector job count climbed by 120,400, or 1.5 percent, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In August 2016, the state’s private sector job count fell by 12,400. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, New York State’s economy has added 843,700 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 58 of the past 68 months.

In August 2016, the statewide unemployment rate increased from 4.7% to 4.8%, but remained below the comparable U.S. unemployment rate of 4.9%.

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.

“Looking over the past year, the New York State economy has added more than 120,000 private sector jobs and our statewide unemployment rate has dropped by 0.2 percentage points. In addition, in August 2016 the state’s jobless rate remained below the nation’s comparable rate,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the New York State Department of Labor’s 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, August 2015 versus August 2016.

U.S. and New York State: July – August 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 July-August 2016.

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 the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month. In August 2016, the statewide unemployment rate increased from 4.7% to 4.8%. The number of unemployed New Yorkers increased from 452,400 in July to 461,400 in August 2016.

U.S., New York State and Metro Areas: August 2015 – August 2016

1) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

The following table 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 August 2015 and August 2016.

Job highlights since August 2015:

• Nine metro areas in New York State added private sector jobs over the past year, with the most rapid growth in these areas:
  • Kingston (+3.4%)
  • Dutchess-Putnam (+2.5%)
  • Watertown-Fort Drum (+2.5%)
  • New York City (+2.4%)
  • Ithaca (+2.2%)
• Over the past year, six metro areas in the state – Elmira (-1.5%), Binghamton (-1.2%), Glens Falls (-0.6%), Syracuse (-0.5%), Albany-Schenectady-Troy (-0.4%) and Rochester (-0.4%) – lost private sector jobs.

Change in jobs by major industry sector: August 2015 – August 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 August 2015 and August 2016.

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since August 2015:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+58,500) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector job gains were mostly in health care and social assistance (+41,700), especially ambulatory health care (+24,700).
• The second largest employment increase over the past year occurred in leisure and hospitality (+31,000). Sector gains were centered in accommodation and food services (+26,700), especially food services and drinking places (+29,200).
• Other services had the third largest increase in jobs (+9,400) between August 2015 and August 2016. Over the past year, most sector job gains were in religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations (+6,100).
• From August 2015 to August 2016, the fourth largest employment increase occurred in trade, transportation and utilities, which added 9,300 jobs. Over-the-year sector job gains were mostly in transportation, warehousing and utilities (+13,300), especially transportation and warehousing (+12,600).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since August 2015:

• Over the past 12 months, manufacturing lost the most jobs (-2,900) of any major industry sector in New York. Job losses were focused in durable goods (-6,000), especially fabricated metals (-5,600).

Unemployment Insurance Benefits: August 2016

1) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included August 12, 2016, there were 130,140 people (including 119,866 who live in the State) who received benefits under the regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.

In August 2016, New York State residents who received Unemployment Insurance benefits made up 26% of the total unemployed.

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, 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.

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