Fifth Straight Month of Declining Unemployment Rates in New York State

NEW YORK (TIP): In December 2020, New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 8.2%, falling from 8.4% in November 2020, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. The number of unemployed New Yorkers also decreased over the month, by 20,200, from 764,500 to 744,300. This represents the fifth straight month of declining unemployment rates in New York State, bucking the national trend. The U.S. unemployment rate held steady between November and December 2020.

 At the same time, the number of private sector jobs in New York State decreased over the month by 22,100, or 0.3%, to 7,354,300. By comparison, the number of private sector jobs in the U.S. decreased by 0.1% in December 2020.

The number of private sector jobs in New York State is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York businesses conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more complete data become available the following month. The BLS calculates New York State’s unemployment rate based partly upon the results of the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of approximately 3,100 households in the State. Note: Seasonally adjusted data are used to 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, December 2019 versus December 2020.