Albany, NY (January 19, 2012) -
New York State's unemployment rate was 8.0% in December 2011, remaining unchanged from November 2011 - the State Labor Department reported today. The number of unemployed New Yorkers increased over the month -- from 759,500 in November to 768,200 in December 2011.
In December 2011, New York State's private sector job count declined by 16,800 or 0.2%. Since the state's economic recovery began in November 2009, New York has recouped 54%, or 180,400, of the private sector jobs lost during the state's recession in 2008-2009.
"The New York State economy has added 90,100 private sector jobs over the past year, while our state's unemployment rate remained below the nation's rate in December 2011," 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, December 2010 versus December 2011.
1) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):
In December 2011, New York State's unemployment rate remained unchanged from November 2011's level of 8.0%. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped over the month -- from 8.7% in November to 8.5% in December 2011.
| *Data are preliminary and subject to change, based on standard procedures outlined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. | |||
| December 2011* | November 2011 | December 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 8.5 | 8.7 | 9.4 |
| New York State | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| New York City | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.8 |
| NYS, outside NYC | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 |
2) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):
U.S. and New York State, November 2011 - December 2011
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 November 2011 and December 2011.
| Change in Total Nonfarm Jobs: (private sector + government) | Change in Private Sector Jobs: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Net
|
%
|
Net
|
%
|
| United States | +200,000 | +0.2% | +212,000 | +0.2% |
| New York State | -14,000 | -0.2% | -16,800 | -0.2% |
3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):
U.S., New York State, Major Regions, and Metro Areas: December 2010 - December 2011
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 December 2010 and December 2011.
| Change in Total Nonfarm Jobs: (private sector + government) | Change in Private Sector Jobs: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Net
|
%
|
Net
|
%
|
|
| United States | +1,671,000 | +1.3% | +1,932,000 | +1.8% |
| New York State | +88,000 | +1.0% | +90,100 | +1.3% |
| Downstate NY (10-co. area) | +29,700 | +0.5% | +35,600 | +0.8% |
| New York City | +36,600 | +1.0% | +38,900 | +1.2% |
| Suburban Counties | -6,900 | -0.4% | -3,300 | -0.2% |
| Nassau-Suffolk | -9,900 | -0.8% | -6,800 | -0.7% |
| Putnam-Rockland-Westchester | +3,000 | +0.5% | +3,500 | +0.8% |
| Upstate NY (52-co. area) | +17,700 | +0.6% | +23,500 | +1.0% |
| Metro Areas | +17,100 | +0.7% | +19,700 | +1.0% |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy | +2,900 | +0.7% | +4,300 | +1.3% |
| Binghamton | -400 | -0.4% | +100 | +0.1% |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls | -2,000 | -0.4% | -1,300 | -0.3% |
| Glens Falls | +100 | +0.2% | +800 | +1.9% |
| Ithaca | -1,600 | -2.4% | -1,500 | -2.6% |
| Kingston | +900 | +1.5% | +1,200 | +2.6% |
| Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown | +500 | +0.2% | +800 | +0.4% |
| Rochester | +12,900 | +2.5% | +12,500 | +2.9% |
| Syracuse | +2,600 | +0.8% | +900 | +0.3% |
| Utica-Rome | +1,200 | +0.9% | +1,900 | +2.0% |
| Non-metro Counties | +600 | +0.1% | +3,800 | +0.8% |
Job highlights since December 2010:
4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):
Change in jobs by major industry sector, December 2010 - December 2011
The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State between December 2010 and December 2011.
| *The educational and health services category is in the private sector. Government includes public education and health services. | |||
| Sectors With Job Gains: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional & Business Services | +37,600 | ||
| Educational & Health Services* | +30,000 | ||
| Trade, Transportation & Utilities | +11,900 | ||
| Leisure & Hospitality | +11,500 | ||
| Construction | +5,900 | ||
| Financial Activities | +3,900 | ||
| Sectors With Job Losses: | |||
| Manufacturing | -4,700 | ||
| Information | -3,700 | ||
| Other Services | -2,200 | ||
| Government* | -2,100 | ||
| Natural Resources and Mining | -100 | ||
Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since December 2010:
Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since December 2010:
5) Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI), Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) and Extended Benefits (EB) programs:
During the week that included December 12, 2011, 462,458 people (including 423,347 who live in New York State) received benefits under:
Residents who received benefits under these programs made up 55% of the total unemployed in the state in December 2011. The maximum number of weeks of unemployment benefits available to claimants in New York State is 93. In December, Congress passed a two-month EUC extension. This means people who exhaust 26 weeks of regular benefits by February 26, 2012 can collect EUC if they claim EUC by March 4, 2012. People who exhaust their current tier of EUC by March 4, 2012 may move to the next tier. The last week payable for all EUC is the week ending August 19, 2012. The last week payable for EB in New York State is the week ending March 11, 2012.
People who filed a new claim during the week that began September 5, 2011 or later may only receive up to 26 weeks of regular UI. The unemployed are encouraged to use the Department's online Unemployment Insurance calculator to estimate how many weeks 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 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. We 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)
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