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2017 Financial Condition Report

For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2017

Economic and Demographic Trends

2017 Financial Condition Report
For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2017

The State Lagged Behind the Nation in Economic Growth for 2016

A state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of production originating from all industries in the state, as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2016:

  • New York State’s GDP was nearly $1.5 trillion, more than 8 percent of the U.S. total.
  • The State ranked 38th in the nation for economic growth, with real GDP growth of 0.8 percent from 2015, roughly half the national increase. Washington ranked first with real GDP growth of 3.7 percent.
  • The financial activities sector comprised nearly 30 percent of the State’s real GDP. The natural resources and mining sector accounted for less than 1 percent.
New York Real GDP Growth
Composition of New York GDP

Wages in the State Increase

  • In 2016, wages in the State increased by 3.2 percent. While wages in the finance and insurance sector decreased by 1.0 percent primarily due to lower end-of-year bonuses, wages in all other industries grew by 3.5 percent.
  • Personal income increased by 2.9 percent in 2016, a smaller increase than that of wages primarily due to weak growth in interest and dividend income.
Wages and Personal Income Growth in New York

The State Added More Jobs as the Unemployment Rate Declined

  • In 2016, the State added over 135,000 jobs, an increase of 1.5 percent compared to national employment growth of 1.7 percent.
  • The State’s unemployment rate declined from 5.3 percent in 2015 to 4.8 percent in 2016. However, the total labor force in the State shrank by 6,700 workers.
  • In 2016, the highest rate of employment growth continued to be in the construction industry, with an increase of 3.8 percent. The largest number of jobs added was in the educational and health services sector, with an increase of nearly 52,000 jobs.
  • In 2016, employment growth was uneven across the State. New York City had the highest growth rate of any region, an increase of 2.1 percent, while the Southern Tier experienced a decline of 0.1 percent.
2016 Employment Growth by Industry Sector
2016 Employment Growth by Region

New York’s Population has Grown, But More Slowly than the Nation’s

  • From 2010 to 2016, the State’s population increased by 1.9 percent, compared to a national pace of 4.7 percent.
  • The net statewide population gain of more than 367,000 residents during that period primarily reflected an increase of more than 362,000 in New York City.