Labor Force and Unemployment Data Data for New York State, Labor Market Regions, Metropolitan Areas, Counties, and Municipalities of at least 25,000 Population
Select an area:
Unemployment Rate Rankings by Region, MSA and County (xls)
Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Data - NYS, NYC, and BOS - Excel spreadsheet with historical (1976-present) and current month's labor force data for New York State, New York City and the balance of state region (NYS-NYC). All data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.
Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Data - Metro Areas - Excel spreadsheet with historical (2000-present) and current month's labor force data for metro areas in New York State. All data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.
Mass Layoff Statistics - Major job cutbacks in New York State based on Unemployment Insurance claims. Data are available monthly and quarterly.
Important Notice
Labor force statistics for all LAUS areas are revised each year as part of the benchmarking process. The annual benchmarking process is part of the nationwide re-estimating procedure mandated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Revised labor force data will be released and posted on this web site according to the following schedule:
| Release Date | Revised Data Item |
|---|---|
| March 7, 2013 | 2008-2012 data for New York State, New York City, and Balance of State region (NYS less NYC) |
| March 12, 2013 | 2012 data for all other sub-state areas |
| April 5, 2013 | 2008-2011 data for all other sub-state areas |
Due to a new estimating methodology implemented in January 2005, sub-state labor force statistics from January 2000 to present are not comparable to data from earlier years. Questions regarding labor force statistics should be directed to your local labor market analyst.
Labor force estimates provide the most up-to-date estimates of persons employed and unemployed by place of residence. Labor force data include estimates of the civilian labor force, the number employed, the number unemployed, and the unemployment rate. Labor force figures are available for New York State, labor market regions, metropolitan areas, counties, and municipalities of at least 25,000. Estimates are developed and distributed monthly. Labor force data for the nation and areas outside of New York State are available at http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm.
Labor force statistics for all states, including New York, are calculated using a statistical model that takes into account: 1) data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly nationwide survey of households conducted for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, that interviews about 3,000 households in the state; 2) data from the monthly nationwide survey of business establishments (including 18,000 in New York State), that BLS uses for its monthly nonfarm employment report; and 3) Unemployment Insurance claims data. Model estimates are then revised at the end of each year.
Per BLS procedures, current month labor force estimates are preliminary and are revised during the production of the following month’s preliminary estimates. Labor force data are subject to only one monthly revision. Monthly labor force statistics are subject to annual benchmark revisions in subsequent years. Revised (benchmarked) data for the prior year will be released with current year January estimates. Data for earlier years will also be benchmarked, but are released at a later date as benchmark processing progresses. Data for the preceding 3-5 years are subject to benchmark revision.
Sub-state labor force statistics (all estimates other than those for New York State, New York City, and the Balance of State region) from before 2000 are not comparable with estimates from January 2000 forward. This break in series is due to the implementation of a new estimation methodology for sub-state areas that took effect in January 2005. The new estimation methodology was applied to all sub-state data going back to January 2000. The break in series occurs between December 1999 and January 2000. More information on breaks in the series can be found in the Technical Notes.
The entire set of currently available historical LAUS data are available by downloading the file, laus.zip. This compressed archive, which consists of five comma-separated-value (CSV) data files (laus_cities.txt, laus_counties.txt, laus_msas.txt, laus_regions.txt, laus_nys.txt) and a layout file (readme.txt), can be uncompressed with either the winzip or pkunzip utility programs. A self-extracting version laus.exe is also available. After extracting the files from the archive, they may be imported into a spreadsheet application. The text and data should parse automatically into columns.
For more information concerning labor force statistics, see Technical Notes. For additional information on the various sources of employment data, see comparing sources of employment data.
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