Unemployment In New York Is Rising, Is Trouble On The Way?

Since the unofficial end of the COVID pandemic, the economy has steadily increased.

Even though inflation had been increasing at record rates, New York State and the rest of the nation had been at record lows. However, over the last few months, jobless rates in the Empire State have been slowly climbing.

Now, while the overall unemployment rate is still relatively low when compared to just a few years ago, any time you see a trend line increasing, it's a good idea to start paying attention.

The most recent job data that was released by the New York State Department of Labor shows that rates have increased by .1% between August 2022 and August 2023. That amounts to an additional 14,000 plus people being out of work.

Rates in New York City have seen the largest individual increase among areas of the state, with the rate going up by .4% over the last 12 months. The Bronx has the highest individual rate in the state, with unemployment sitting at just over 7%, while Manhattan seems to be driving the increase in jobless claims with a .8% rise.

The data is not all gloom and doom, as Buffalo and Western New York have actually seen rates decrease over the same period by .2%, with the current jobless rate sitting at 3.8%.

Overall, even with this bump in unemployment claims, job creation seems to remain strong in the Empire State, with the number of non-farm jobs on the rise by more than 18,800 in August 2023.