December 20, 2018

State Economy Adds 5,200 Jobs, Reaches New Private Sector Employment High

New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in November 2018, reaching its lowest level on record (current records date back to 1976), according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In addition, the number of unemployed New Yorkers fell in November, from 387,500 to 379,400, its lowest level since August 1988.

In addition, New York State’s private sector job count rose by 5,200, or 0.1%, to 8,231,100 in November 2018, a new, all-time high. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, New York State’s economy has added 1,137,000 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 82 of the past 95 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 data become available the following month. The federal government calculates New York State’s unemployment rate based partly upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

“New York State’s labor market continued to expand in November as the State added 5,200 private sector jobs to reach a new, all-time high employment count. At the same time, the statewide unemployment rate fell from 4.0% to 3.9% in November, reaching its lowest level on record, and the state’s civilian labor force increased over the month to more than 9,750,000, also an all-time record,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, Director of the New York State Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics.

Full Press Release