New York State
Department of Labor

Albany, NY (March 07, 2013) -

New York State's economy has added 29,600 jobs in January, breaking a record with 17 consecutive months of private sector jobs added, the State Department of Labor reported today. January's job count, as compared to the national figure of 166,000 jobs added for the same month, means that nearly one out of every five jobs added in the nation were created in New York. Between December 2012 and January 2013, New York State's unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.4%. The rate in New York City increased from 8.8% to 9.1%, and the rate in the balance of state region (New York State outside of New York City) rose from 7.8% to 7.9%.

The private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Due to the sample size, this survey is considered a reliable gauge of the state's economy for any given month. In contrast, the unemployment rate as determined by BLS is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households in New York State. Due to the small sample size, this survey is not comprehensive.

"New York State's strong economy continues to grow in 2013 and is setting records for consecutive job growth. In January, the state's private sector job count increased by 29,600, accounting for nearly one in five jobs created in the nation," 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, January 2012 versus January 2013.

Job 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." It is federally mandated.

Monthly labor force data, including unemployment rates, are also revised at the end of each year, using methods established by the BLS. The revised data show that New York's labor force climbed by 59,000 between 2011 and 2012 as more state residents had renewed confidence about finding a job in the state. Reflecting New York's growing labor force, the state's annual average unemployment rate rose from 8.3% in 2011 to 8.5% in 2012.

For more details, see: Annual Benchmark Analysis.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, December 2012 - January 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 December 2012 and January 2013.

 

2) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):

The state's unemployment rate, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households. The rate increased from 8.2% in December 2012 to 8.4% in January 2013. In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers increased over the month -- from 787,100 in December 2012 to 806,200 in January 2013.

 

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

The table below compares the over-the-year change in total nonfarm and private sector jobs in the United States, New York State, the Upstate and Downstate regions, and metro areas in the state between January 2012 and January 2013.

 

Job highlights since January 2012:

• Since January 2012, the number of private sector jobs in the state increased by 102,600, or 1.4%. Over the same time frame, the nation's private sector job count increased by 1.9%.
• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.2% over the past year. Within the Downstate region, private sector jobs increased at a rate of 2.2% in both New York City and the suburban counties.
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.7% over the past year, with job growth occurring in both the region's metro areas (+0.7%) and in counties outside of metro areas (+0.5%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas in the state:
  • Nassau-Suffolk (+2.9%)
  • New York City (+2.2%)
  • Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middleton (+2.1%)
  • Kingston (+2.0%)
  • Glens Falls (+1.9%)
  • Albany-Schenectady-Troy (+1.5%)
• The metro areas in the state that lost private sector jobs between January 2012 and January 2013 include:
  • Elmira (-0.9%)
  • Utica-Rome (-0.2%)
  • Rochester (-0.1%)
  • Syracuse (-0.1%)

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

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

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

 

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since January 2012:

• Professional and business services added the most jobs (+32,900) of any sector between January 2012 and January 2013. Sector job gains over this period were focused in administrative and support services (+18,000) and professional, scientific and technical services (+15,600).
• Private educational and health services (+32,400) had the second largest increase in jobs over the past year. Sector employment gains were centered in health care and social assistance (+28,500).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since January 2012:

• Over the past year, government lost more jobs (-11,800) than any other sector in the state. Government sector job losses were concentrated in local government (-7,500).
• Employment losses in the manufacturing sector (-9,500) were greatest in durable goods (-6,400), especially computer and electronic products (-2,100).

 

5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and Extended Benefits (EB) programs:

For New York, during the week that included January 12, 2013, there were 375,168 people (including 345,620 who live in the state) who received benefits under:

• Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI),
• Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), or
• Federal Extended Benefits (EB) programs.

New York State residents who received Unemployment Insurance benefits made up 43% of the total unemployed in the state in January 2013.

On December 9, 2012, the Extended Benefits (EB) program ended in New York State. EB provided up to 20 weeks of benefits to claimants who exhausted their Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits. Prior to December 9, 2012, unemployed claimants who exhausted EUC would move into the EB program. Claimants who exhausted EUC on December 9, 2012 or later, and could not establish a new claim for regular UI, exhausted all entitlement to UI benefits.

The EUC program was extended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was signed into law on January 2, 2013. Since the recession, the EUC program has provided as many as 47 weeks of benefits in four different Tiers. Currently, only the first three Tiers are available in New York State, with a maximum of 37 weeks.

See the table below for the maximum number of weeks available under 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. Department of Labor. They survey 18,000 business establishments to get jobs data for New York State by industry. The jobs data do not include agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid family workers and domestic workers in private households.

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)