New York State
Department of Labor

Albany, NY (November 15, 2012) -

New York State's economy added 5,900 private sector jobs in October, the State Department of Labor reported today. The job growth brings the total to 110,300 private sector jobs added to the state’s economy in 2012 and sets an all-time high job count for New York at 7,340,100.

The state’s unemployment rate fell in October by 0.2% to 8.7%. New York City’s unemployment rate also declined, falling from 9.5% to 9.3%. In addition, the number of unemployed in the state declined in October by 17,500 to 830,600.

"In October 2012, New York’s private sector continued to add jobs, both the statewide and New York City unemployment rates fell from the previous month, and the number of unemployed in the state declined. The private sector job count grew by 5,900 to 7,340,100, reaching an all-time high for the state," 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, October 2011 versus October 2012.

1) Jobs data (seasonally adjusted):

U.S. and New York State, September 2012 - October 2012

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 September 2012 and October 2012.

 

2) Unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted):

The state's unemployment rate, as determined by USDOL, is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 people. The rate decreased from 8.9% in September 2012 to 8.7% in October 2012. In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month -- from 848,100 in September 2012 to 830,600 in October 2012.

 

3) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

U.S., New York State, Major Regions, and Metro Areas: October 2011 - October 2012

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 October 2011 and October 2012.

 

Job highlights since October 2011:

• Since October 2011, the number of private sector jobs in the state increased by 133,100, or 1.8%. Over the same time frame, the nation's private sector job count increased by 1.7%.
• In the 10-county Downstate region, private sector jobs grew by 2.4% over the past year. Within the Downstate region, jobs grew by 2.9% in New York City and by 1.3% in the suburban counties.
• In the 52-county Upstate region, the private sector job count grew by 0.6% over the past year, with job growth occurring in both the region's metro areas (+0.5%) and in counties outside of metro areas (+0.8%).
• Over the past year, private sector jobs grew most rapidly in these metro areas in the state:
  • New York City (+2.9%)
  • Ithaca (+2.8%)
  • Kingston (+2.6%)
• The metro areas in the state that lost private sector jobs between October 2011 and October 2012 include:
  • Elmira (-1.5%)
  • Binghamton (-0.6%)
  • Buffalo-Niagara Falls (decline smaller than -0.1%)
  • Syracuse (decline smaller than -0.1%)

4) Jobs data (not seasonally adjusted):

Change in jobs by major industry sector, October 2011 - October 2012

The table below compares the over-the-year change in jobs by major industry sector in New York State between October 2011 and October 2012.

 

Highlights among NYS sectors with job gains since October 2011:

• Professional and business services added the most jobs (+52,600) of any sector between October 2011 and October 2012. Sector job gains over this period were focused in professional, scientific and technical services (+27,000) and administrative and support services (+22,200).
• Private educational and health services (+37,900) had the second largest increase in jobs over the past year. Sector employment gains occurred in both educational services (+20,200) and health care and social assistance (+17,700).

Highlights among NYS sectors with job losses since October 2011:

• Over the past year, construction lost more jobs (-12,400) than any other industry sector in the state. Construction sector job losses were concentrated in specialty trade contractors (-7,000).
• Employment losses in the information sector (-5,400) were greatest in publishing (-2,900) and motion picture and sound recording (-700).

 

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

For New York, during the week that included October 12, 2012, there were 389,052 people (including 356,502 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 October 2012.

In February 2012, Congress passed an extension of EUC and EB through December 2012. However, since then there have been significant changes to the maximum number of weeks of benefits available to the unemployed in New York State. People who filed a new claim during the week that began June 25, 2012 or later are likely to only receive up to 26 weeks of regular UI. In addition:

• On September 2, 2012, the weeks of available benefits in EUC Tier 1 were reduced from 20 to 14. In addition, the weeks of available benefits in EUC Tier 3 were reduced from 13 to 9.
• On September 9, 2012, EUC Tier 4 ended in New York State. Claimants who exhausted Tier 3 benefits by September 9, 2012 may continue to collect up to 6 weeks of Tier 4 benefits through December 2012. Claimants who exhausted Tier 3 after September 9, 2012 and before December 9, 2012 may be eligible to receive EB.
• The week ending December 9, 2012 is the last payable week for EB in New York State. The 3-month seasonally adjusted unemployment rate as of October 2012 no longer meets the criteria necessary for New York State to continue paying EB past this date. (The EB program was previously scheduled to end on December 30, 2012.)

See the table below for the maximum number of weeks available under the new 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.

 

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See Jobs and Unemployment Fact Sheet (opens in new window)