NUMBER UNEMPLOYED FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE JANUARY 2001 AS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS

Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today released his office’s analysis and seasonal adjustment of March job numbers reported by the New York State Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [1] 

Total payroll jobs rose 200 in March, seasonally adjusted. Private-sector payroll jobs fell 500. These numbers are not significant as a percentage of total March payroll jobs of 3,565,400.

But on a year-over-year basis, March payroll jobs in the City rose 0.7 percent, less than half the corresponding U.S. growth rate of 1.6 percent. For the month of March alone, on a seasonally adjusted basis the City’s job-growth rate was 0.1 of a percentage point, one-tenth the U.S. growth rate of 1.0 percent.

“The nation is not growing jobs at a very fast rate, but the City is growing them even more slowly,” Thompson said.

Jobs held by New Yorkers in March grew 1,100, while 36,500 fewer New Yorkers were looking for work than in February. A decline in the number of people seeking jobs can stem from a number of causes, including fewer people starting a job search or more people giving up their job search.

The City’s labor force fell by 35,300, seasonally adjusted, after a net decrease of 2,700 in the previous two months. The number of unemployed City residents in March fell to 192,500, seasonally adjusted, the lowest level since January 2001. The number of employed New York City residents rose slightly to 3,500,400, seasonally adjusted, after having risen to 3,499,300 in February.  

It should be noted that resident employment and unemployment data are volatile because they are based on a relatively small sample of New York City households. 

The City’s Year-over-Year Monthly Rate-of-Job-Creation Lag Widens

In March, the City’s job growth continued to lag the nation when comparing how employment has grown over a 12-month period. However, the gap widened to 0.91 of a percentage point (1.6 percent for the nation, 0.7 percent for the City).  The City has lagged the nation in job creation consistently since March 2001, with the gap opening up significantly in the final months of 2001, as may be seen by the bars in Chart 1.

Chart 1. NYC and U.S. Show Positive Job Growth But NYC Still Lags U.S. in Year-over-Year Monthly Percent Changes in Jobs, January 2000 to March 2005

Data Source: Computations by the NYC Comptroller's Office based on data from New York State Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Y/Y = Year over Year.) 

Total Jobs Rose by 200 in March

Total jobs located in New York City, seasonally adjusted, rose 200 in March vs. February. The private sector lost 500 jobs.

Private-sector gains were concentrated in the information sector, which added 1,500 jobs, and the professional and business services sector, which gained 1,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality gained 400 jobs. Private-sector losses were primarily in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, which lost 2,100 jobs—an annualized loss rate of 4.3 percent of the jobs in this sector. Manufacturing lost 800 jobs, other services lost 300 jobs, and financial activities lost 200 jobs. However, the securities industry, a component of financial activities, gained 800 jobs. Job changes by sector are shown in Chart 2.

Governments in the City increased the number of their employees by 700 in March, seasonally adjusted—with a gain of 900 local government jobs offset by a loss of 100 Federal jobs and 100 State jobs.

Since December 2000, New York City has lost 190,100 jobs, seasonally adjusted, of which 112,000 jobs (or 58.9 percent) have been lost since September 2001. 

Chart 2. Change in NYC Jobs by NAICS Category, March 2005 vs.

February 2005, Seasonally Adjusted, ‘000, and SAAR

Data Source: New York State Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, revised series based on NAICS job categories.   The percent-change numbers in parentheses are annualized numbers based on month-to-month changes.  SAAR = Seasonally adjusted annual rate (in parentheses).   

City Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.2 Percent in March

The City’s unemployment rate in March, seasonally adjusted, decreased to 5.2 percent from 6.1 percent in February. The number of unemployed New Yorkers, seasonally adjusted, fell 36,500 in March, after having increased 12,100 in February and decreased 29,100 in January. The number of employed New Yorkers in March increased 1,100, seasonally adjusted, after having risen 7,600 in February and 6,700 in January.

The City’s labor-force-participation rate (a measure of the number of New Yorkers working relative to the adult population) fell to 58.6 percent in March from 59.2 percent in February. The City’s labor-force-participation rate is 7.2 percentage points below the national average of 65.8 percent.

March Unemployment Rates by Borough

Within New York City on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the March unemployment rate of City residents was lowest in Manhattan at 4.6 percent.

It was highest in the Bronx at 7.0 percent. The second-highest unemployment rate was in Brooklyn at 5.7 percent followed by 4.9 percent in Queens and 4.7 percent in Staten Island.

On a year-over-year basis, unemployment of City residents fell in all boroughs—by 3.4 percentage points in the Bronx, by 2.9 percentage points in Brooklyn, by 2.5 percentage points in Manhattan, and by 2.4 percentage points in Queens and Staten Island.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has in recent years re-benchmarked its numbers every year starting with the March data, revising prior months’ data at the same time.  The BLS has announced that in future it will be re-benchmarking on a continuing monthly basis.    

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[1] The numbers are reported according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which replaced the previous Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, as described at http://stats.bls.gov/sae/saenaics.htm.  The March 2005 data are part of a re-benchmarked series issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, superseding previous labor data.