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2021 Financial Condition Report

For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021

Economic and Demographic Trends

2021 Financial Condition Report
For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2021

Employment Statewide Declined in 2020 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • In calendar year 2020, the State lost over 955,000 jobs, a decrease of 10.0 percent compared to the decline nationally of 6.1 percent.
  • New York ranked second among the states for job losses in 2020; California ranked highest with a decline of over 1.25 million.
  • The State’s unemployment rate climbed to a high of 16.2 percent in April 2020 and ended the year at 10.0 percent.
  • All industries in the State experienced job losses. The hardest hit was the leisure and hospitality sector, losing over one-third of its employment statewide in 2020.
  • In 2020, all 10 regions in the State had decreased employment. New York City lost the highest percentage of jobs of any region (11.1 percent) while the Capital Region had the lowest decline (7.8 percent).

 

Wages in the State Decrease, Even As Personal Income Increases

  • Due to the pandemic’s impact on employment, total wages in the State decreased by 2.3 percent in 2020. The accommodation and food services industry realized the largest decline in wages (33.6 percent).
  • However, wages increased in seven industry sectors, which were primarily those with the lowest number of job losses. The information sector had the highest growth (9.0 percent).
  • Personal income in 2020 grew by 4.7 percent primarily due to the economic impact payments (“stimulus checks”) and enhanced unemployment benefits provided through the federal relief packages.

NYS GDP Just Over $1.4 Trillion in 2020

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. 

  • New York State’s real GDP was just over $1.4 trillion, 7.6 percent of the U.S. total. 
  • While GDP in all states declined in 2020, New York had the fourth largest decrease (5.9 percent). Hawaii had the highest (8.0 percent), while Utah had the lowest (0.1 percent).
  • The financial activities sector comprised the largest share of the State’s GDP in 2020 at 30.4 percent, up from 29.1 percent in 2019. The second and third top industries—professional and business services and transportation, trade, and utilities—together make up 26.0 percent.

 

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

  • From 2010 to 2020, the State’s population increased by 4.2 percent, less than the national increase of 7.4 percent.
  • New York became more racially diverse. The Asian population had the largest growth from 2010 to 2019, an increase of over 246,000.
  • There were over 4.4 million immigrants in New York in 2019, 22.6 percent of the population.
  • Of these immigrants, 19 percent came to New York within the last 10 years.