New York State’s economy added 5,400 private sector jobs during January 2014. This raised New York State’s private sector job count to 7,529,200, an all-time high. The state’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.0% to 6.8% in January 2014, its lowest level since December 2008, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In addition, the annual federal revision of jobs data known as “benchmarking” increased previously reported jobs numbers. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the New York State economy has added 426,600 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 32 of the past 37 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 state’s economy added 5,400 private sector jobs, reaching another all-time high in January,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “This, coupled with federal benchmarking revisions, has shown the economy to be even stronger than we thought.”

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 2013 versus January 2014.

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

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 8.5% in 2012 to 7.7% in 2013.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, December 2013 - January 2014

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 December 2013 and January 2014.

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 7.0% in December 2013 to 6.8% in January 2014, reaching its lowest level since December 2008.

The number of unemployed New Yorkers also decreased over the month -- from 668,100 in December 2013 to 649,500 in January 2014, its lowest level since December 2008.

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

U.S., New York State, Major Regions, and Metro Areas: January 2013 - January 2014

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 January 2013 and January 2014.

• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.5% over the past year. Downstate’s private sector job growth was most rapid in New York City (+2.8%) and Nassau-Suffolk (+2.0%).
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.5% over the past year. Private sector job growth occurred in both the region’s metro areas (+0.6%) and in counties outside of metro areas (+0.5%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas:
  • Kingston (+4.5%)
  • New York City (+2.8%)
  • Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (+2.2%)
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+2.0%)
  • Putnam-Rockland-Westchester (+1.0%)
• The Elmira (-2.5%), Binghamton (-0.9%), and Albany-Schenectady-Troy (-0.1%) metro areas lost private sector jobs between January 2013 and January 2014.

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

Change in jobs by major industry sector, January 2013 – January 2014

The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State occurring between January 2013 and January 2014.

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since January 2013:

• Private educational and health services added the most jobs (+37,500) of any major industry sector over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+32,800), especially ambulatory health care services (+23,600).
• Trade, transportation and utilities had the second largest increase in jobs (+31,800) between January 2013 and January 2014. Over the past year, sector job gains were mostly in wholesale and retail trade (+29,700).
• The third largest employment increase over the past year was registered in leisure and hospitality (+21,800), with sector gains focused in accommodation and food services (+22,100).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since January 2013:

• Over the past year, government lost more jobs (-5,600) than any other sector. Government employment losses between January 2013 and January 2014 were largest at the federal level (-4,100).
• Between January 2013 and January 2014, manufacturing sector job losses (-4,400) were greatest in durable goods (-4,100), especially in computer and electronic products (-2,900).

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI):

For New York State, during the week that included January 12, 2014, there were 205,063 people (including 189,659 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 29% of the total unemployed in the state in January 2014.

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 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, 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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