NYS Economy Added 137,300 Private Sector Jobs in May 2020

Statewide Unemployment Rate decreased to 14.5% in May 2020

In May 2020, the number of private sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 137,300, or 2.1 percent, to 6,612,000, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor.

New York State's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 15.3% to 14.5% in May 2020. In May 2020, the number of unemployed New York State residents decreased by 76,300, while labor force levels increased by 5,700.

The number of private sector jobs in New York State is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York businesses 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 become 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 the State each month.

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, May 2019 versus May 2020.

United States and New York State: April – May 2020

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

The table below compares the month-over-month change in total nonfarm and private sector jobs in the United States and New York State.

**Change in Total Nonfarm and Private Sector Jobs**
**April – May 2020**
	Change in Total Nonfarm Jobs: (private sector + government)		Change in Private Sector Jobs:
	Net	%	Net	%
United States	+2,509,000	+1.9%	+3,094,000	+2.8%
New York State	+98,000	+1.2%	+137,300	+2.1%

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 from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

In May 2020, the statewide unemployment rate decreased from 15.3% to 14.5%. New York City’s unemployment rate increased over the month from 15.0% to 18.3%. Outside of New York City, the unemployment rate decreased from 15.6% to 11.9%.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month by 76,300, from 1,392,300 in April to 1,316,000 in May 2020.

Unemployment Rates (%)*
*Data are preliminary and subject to change, based on standard procedures outlined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
	May 2020*	April 2020	May 2019
United States	13.3	14.7	3.6
New York State	14.5	15.3	4.0
New York City	18.3	15.0	4.1
NYS, outside NYC	11.9	15.6	3.9

United States, New York State and Metro Areas: May 2019 – May 2020

1) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

The following table compares the changes in total nonfarm and private sector jobs occurring in the United States, New York State and metro areas in the state, between May 2019 and May 2020.

Change in Total Nonfarm and Private Sector Jobs by Area
May 2019 – May 2020
	Change in Total Nonfarm Jobs: (private sector + government)		Change in Private Sector Jobs:
Note: The sum of sub-state area job estimates will usually differ from the New York State total. This is because the State total is calculated separately from the sub-state areas and is estimated based on an independent sample.
	Net	%	Net	%
United States	-17,767,000	-11.8%	-16,389,000	-12.8%
New York State	-1,780,400	-18.1%	-1,682,800	-20.2%
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	-65,000	-13.7%	-58,800	-15.9%
Binghamton	-13,900	-13.2%	-12,500	-15.1%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	-107,200	-18.8%	-100,700	-21.0%
Dutchess-Putnam	-24,500	-16.3%	-22,800	-18.4%
Elmira	-3,900	-10.5%	-3,600	-11.8%
Glens Falls	-9,600	-17.5%	-9,100	-20.5%
Ithaca	-8,400	-12.9%	-7,700	-13.8%
Kingston	-8,800	-14.0%	-7,800	-16.1%
Nassau-Suffolk	-252,400	-18.6%	-238,500	-20.6%
New York City	-880,500	-18.9%	-851,400	-20.9%
Orange-Rockland-Westchester	-142,000	-19.3%	-132,000	-21.1%
Rochester	-95,800	-17.6%	-88,100	-19.0%
Syracuse	-54,900	-17.0%	-50,500	-19.2%
Utica-Rome	-20,600	-15.9%	-17,800	-18.3%
Watertown-Fort Drum	-8,400	-19.8%	-7,300	-24.1%
Non-metro counties	-68,900	-13.4%	-62,800	-16.4%

Job highlights since May 2019:

All fifteen metro areas in New York State lost private sector jobs since May 2019. The following areas lost at least 20% of their private sector jobs over the past year:
- Watertown- Fort Drum (-24.1%)
- Orange-Rockland-Westchester (-21.1%)
- Buffalo-Niagara Falls (-21.0%)
- New York City (-20.9%)
- Nassau-Suffolk (-20.6%)
- Glens Falls (-20.5%)
Non-metro counties in New York State lost 62,800 private sector jobs over the past year.

Change in jobs by major industry sector: May 2019 – May 2020

1) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

The table below compares the change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State occurring between May 2019 – May 2020.

Change in Jobs by Major Industry Sector
May 2019 – May 2020
Sectors With Job Losses:
*Educational and health services is in the private sector. Government includes public education and public health services.
Leisure & Hospitality	-601,300
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	-320,700
Educational & Health Services*	-225,700
Professional & Business Services	-189,200
Other Services	-118,000
Construction	-101,900
Government*	-97,600
Manufacturing	-69,700
Financial Activities	-36,500
Information	-18,800
Natural Resources & Mining	-1,000

Highlights among New York State sectors with job losses since May 2019:

The industry sector experiencing the largest over-the-year decline in employment was leisure and hospitality (-601,300). Within this sector, job losses were greatest in accommodation and food services (-492,200), especially food services and drinking places (-416,200).
Trade, transportation and utilities (-320,700) had the second largest over-the-year job loss. Sector job losses were focused in retail trade (-200,400), especially clothing and accessories stores (-71,500).
Over the past year, the third largest employment drop was in educational and health services (-225,700). Within the sector, most job losses occurred in health care and social assistance (-164,200), especially ambulatory health care (-89,000).

Note: The responsibility for the production of monthly estimates of state and metro area nonfarm employment by industry moved from the NYS Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), starting with the April 2011 estimates. More detailed information on the change is available on the BLS website.

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.

In New York State, payroll jobs data by industry come from a monthly survey of 18,000 business establishments conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data are preliminary and subject to revision. Jobs data by industry do not include agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid family workers or domestic workers in private households.

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. The state’s unemployment rate is based partly upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York each month.

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)

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