The unemployment rate in New York City increased to 8.6 percent in August from 8.4 percent in July, while unemployment in New York state increased to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in the same time period, according to data released by the New York State Department of Labor on Sept. 19.
The higher rates come despite the addition of 22,700 private sector jobs in the state, a 0.3 percent increase and higher than the nationwide growth rate of 0.1 percent. According to a press release from the Department of Labor, these increases in unemployment stemmed in part from the state’s growing labor force, which grew by 24,500 in August, as more New Yorkers gained confidence about finding a job and rejoined the labor market.
Bohdan Wynnyk, deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics for the Department of Labor, said in the press release that the state economy experienced its largest monthly jobs gain since January 2013.
“New York remains just one of nine states to have regained all of the private sector jobs lost during the recession,” Wynnyk said.
The unemployment rate in New York City is still lower than it was a year ago at this time, when it was 9.3 percent. In that same period, the state’s unemployment rate fell from 8.6 percent to 7.6 percent, and the nationwide rate fell from 8.1 percent to 7.3 percent.
James Brown, principal economist in the Division of Research & Statistics at the New York State Department of Labor, said the city’s economy has added more than 84,000 jobs in the last 12 months, and the year-long drop in the unemployment rate has occurred despite the fact that the city’s labor force has grown in recent years.
“The city is seeing particularly strong demand in accounting, information technology, health care and hospitality management,” Brown said. “On the flip side, hiring is weaker in some areas, including legal services and finance. The outlook for part-time work is good, as sectors that depend heavily on part-time workers — retail trade and leisure and hospitality — have seen strong job growth.”
Daniel Jones, a senior in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, said he is unsure about whether he will be able to get a job when he graduates.
“I don’t want part time work, you can’t live off of that,” Jones said. “It seems like there’s no shortage of potential job opportunities, so you can find an unpaid internship or maybe a lowly paid internship, but it doesn’t feel like those are likely to turn into stable, full-time jobs.”
According to the press release, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is responsible for determining the state’s rate of unemployment, and does so with a statistical model that primarily uses the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households in New York State. The press release also said the estimates are preliminary and may change the following month when more information is available.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Sept. 25 print edition. Afeefa Tariq is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
