New York City’s Unemployment Rate Drops To Record Lows – But It Is Still Higher Than National Average

New York City attracts professional talent from all across the country and even overseas. Interestingly, the Big Apple continues to offer means to make a decent living, proved state’s Labor Department report.

Reports received Thursday show the plunge in New York City’s unemployment rate continued in October. Unemployment rate in New York City now stands at just 6.4 percent, which is the lowest in six years, reported Business Week. Last month, New York’s unemployment rate stood at 6.8 percent. This drop brought the decline in the city’s unemployment over the past three months to 1.4 percentage points. This is the steepest decline in any quarter in the last 38 years on record, reported Crain’s New York Business.

In terms of pure numbers, New York City added 25,800 private-sector jobs last month. However, unlike the monthly job counts for the state and nation, this tally is not adjusted for the usual seasonal fluctuations in hiring and firing in various industries, caution experts. After adjusting for the seasonal fluctuations, the additions might not seem so steep, they say.

Over the 12-month period ending in October, the number of private-sector jobs in the city rose by 87,200, a gain of 2.5 percent, to 3.56 million, reported the state’s Labor Department. Essentially, in the last 12 months, the number of private-sector jobs has increased by 2.5 percent in the city, which is way better than the state’s 1.5 percent and even the nation’s 2.3 percent.

After the recession that hit the city pretty badly last year, New York City has been rebuilding itself steadily and has left other states behind. The private-sector jobs have been created quite swiftly when compared to the snail’s pace set by the nation as a whole. However, the unemployment rates, which are compiled from the door-to-door surveys, tell a different story altogether. If one compares the two reports, it becomes clear that though the city has been swiftly creating new private-sector jobs, it has been dragging its feet when it comes to hiring.

New York City’s unemployment rate may be coming down, but the city is quite ruthless when it comes sacking people. The Labor Department indicated that the city’s unemployment rate was 1.8 percentage points higher than the nation’s. Fortunately, these steady drops should help the city close that gap. As of October, the national unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, but New York City hopes to match or better the numbers in coming months. If such a pace is maintained, experts assure New York City might match or beat the national average before the next quarter is over.

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