The State Added More Jobs and More Workers

• In 2018, the State added nearly 110,000 jobs, an increase of 1.1 percent compared to national employment growth of 1.7 percent.
• New York ranked 19th among the states for job growth in 2018 and 16th for the five years ending in 2018.
• The State’s unemployment rate declined from 4.7 percent in 2017 to 4.1 percent in 2018. 
• The total labor force in the State increased by 13,300 workers in 2018.
• In 2018, the highest rate of employment growth was in education and health services, with an increase of 3.6 percent. This industry sector also added the largest number of jobs, nearly 61,000.
• In 2018, employment increased in every region of the State. New York City had the highest growth rate of any region (2.9 percent) while the Mohawk Valley had the lowest (0.2 percent).

Wages in the State Increase

• In 2018, total wages in the State increased by 4.4 percent. While those in the finance and insurance sector detracted from overall growth with a decline of 1.3 percent, wages in all other industries grew by 5.1 percent.
• Average annual wages for all industries in the State increased by over $2,200 (3.1 percent).

The State Entered Its Longest Economic Expansion Since 1971

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. The figures above related to employment and wages reflect a continued trend of gains in those indicators in recent years, and the same is true with the State’s GDP. In 2018:

• New York State’s GDP was nearly $1.7 trillion, 8.2 percent of the U.S. total. On a per capita basis, New York State’s GDP was 29.6 percent higher than the national average. 
• The State ranked 25th in the nation for economic growth with a real GDP increase of 2.1 percent, an acceleration from 1.4 percent in 2017. Washington ranked first among the states at 5.7 percent.
• While the financial activities sector comprised the largest share of the State’s GDP in 2018 at 28.5 percent, its impact on the State’s economy has been decreasing in the past five years, falling from 31.2 percent in 2013. The second and third top industries—professional and business services and transportation, trade, and utilities—together make up 27.1 percent.

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

• From 2010 to 2018, the State’s population increased by 0.8 percent, compared to a national pace of 6.0 percent.
• The population in the State has been declining since 2015, with a net loss of almost 100,000 residents through 2018.
• Immigrants have mitigated the population loss, with a net increase of over 312,000 in the same period.
• Immigrants accounted for nearly 23 percent of the population in 2017.