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2018 Financial Condition Report

For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2018

Economic and Demographic Trends

2018 Financial Condition Report
For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2018

The State Lagged Behind the Nation in Economic Growth for 2017

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 2017:

  • New York State’s GDP was over $1.5 trillion, 8 percent of the U.S. total.
  • The State ranked 34th in the nation for economic growth, with real GDP growth of 1.1 percent from 2016, less than half the national increase. Washington ranked first among the states at 4.4 percent.
  • The financial activities sector comprised just over 29 percent of the State’s real GDP. The second and third top industries, professional and business services and transportation, trade, and utilities, together make up 27.2 percent.
New York Real GDP Growth
Composition of New York GDP

Wages in the State Increase

  • In 2017, total wages in the State increased by 2.8 percent. While those in the finance and insurance sector increased by 3.7 percent primarily due to higher end-of-year bonuses, wages in all other industries grew by 2.6 percent.
  • Average annual wages for all industries in the State increased by over $2,700, or 4.0 percent.
Wages and Personal Income Growth in New York

The State Added More Jobs and More Workers

  • In 2017, the State added nearly 114,000 jobs, an increase of 
    1.2 percent compared to national employment growth of 1.6 percent.
  • The State’s unemployment rate declined from 4.8 percent in 2016 to 4.7 percent in 2017. In another positive sign, the total labor force in the State increased by 36,000 workers.
  • In 2017, the highest rate of employment growth was in education and health services, with an increase of 2.8 percent. This industry sector also added the largest number of jobs, with a gain of over 55,000.
  • In 2017, employment trends continued to be 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 0.3 percent.
2017 Employment Growth by Industry Sector
2017 Employment Growth by Region

New York’s Population Has Grown, But More Slowly Than the Nation’s

  • From 2010 to 2017, the State’s population increased by 2.4 percent, compared to a national pace of 5.5 percent.
  • The net statewide population gain of more than 471,000 residents during that period primarily reflected an increase of nearly 448,000 in New York City