REP. MALONEY: “NEW NUMBERS SHOW WE MUST ACT SWIFTLY TO PASS A RECOVERY PACKAGE THAT PUTS NEW YORKERS BACK TO WORK FAST”
New York State Unemployment Spikes to 7.0 Percent, a Full Percent Higher than Last Month
Washington, D.C. – Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement regarding the New York State Labor Department’s December 2008 state employment data. The data show that the New York State unemployment rate jumped to 7.0 percent in December and that private sector employers shed 49,300 jobs last month, the largest one-month decline since October 2001.
“We need an economic recovery package that puts people back to work and gets our economy back on track,” said Rep. Maloney. “The December unemployment numbers for the state of New York are staggering. We must act swiftly to pass an economic recovery package that puts New Yorkers back to work fast. Our stimulus package creates jobs, invests in America’s future and cuts taxes for the Middle Class because one thing is clear: New York State’s unemployed need stimulus now.”
Highlights from the December 2008 state and metropolitan area employment release:
• Unemployment is on the rise. New York State’s unemployment rate rose a full percentage point in December to 7.0 percent, up from 4.6 percent a year ago. Compared to a year ago, there are 229,300 more people unemployed in New York State compared to a year ago, an increase of 51.9 percent.
• Job losses are mounting. Over the past year, New York State employers have shed a total of 121,400 jobs. Leaving aside the 800 jobs created in government, job losses in the private sector totaled 122,200 over the past year, with nearly 103,000 jobs lost in the past 3 months.
• Job losses are widespread. The largest losses in this recession have been in trade, transportation, and utilities; professional and business services; financial activities; and manufacturing. Over the past twelve months, New York employers have cut 34,600 jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities; 32,100 jobs in professional and business services; and roughly 20,000 jobs in both financial activities and manufacturing. Employers in the construction, information, and leisure and hospitality industries also have shed jobs over the past year. However, employers in industries related to education and health services and government continue to add jobs.
• Over 173,000 New Yorkers applied for unemployment insurance in December. In all, more than 1.2 million New Yorkers filed for unemployment insurance in 2008, and more than 244,000 have filed for extended benefits made available in the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008.
• Unemployment in New York City grew especially rapidly, possibly fueled by job losses in the financial services sector. The unemployment rate in New York City jumped from 6.3 percent in November to 7.4 percent in December, and is now higher than the national unemployment rate of 7.2 percent. This was a faster rate of growth than in areas of the state outside New York City, where unemployment went from 5.9 percent in November to 6.6 percent in December.
The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
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