The New York State Department of Labor reported a (seasonally adjusted) loss of 41,700 jobs statewide in March, a decline of 0.4% over the month and in line with the nationwide decline of 0.5%. The Department notes that the reference period for collecting the data occurred before the many coronavirus-related business and school closures. Therefore, all of the March job losses are not fully reflected in this figure.
The New York State Department of Labor reports initial claims for Unemployment Insurance filed statewide during the week ending April 18 totaled 207,000, well beyond the weekly average of 15,000 claims filed prior to the increase as a result of COVID-19 (week ending March 14) though just a little more than half of the claims filed last week. All industries in the state reported an increase in initial claims in the latest week over last year. The cumulative number of COVID-19-related claims for Unemployment Insurance filed in the state reached 1.4 million. The largest number of cumulative claims (well above their shares of employment) were filed in the service-oriented Accommodation and Food Service, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Retail Trade industries, and also Construction. Relatively less claims have been filed in the office-intensive Information, Finance, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industries.
In New York City, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment decreased by 26,900 in March, a decline of 0.6% over the month. The New York State Department of Labor reports 103,000 initial claims for Unemployment Insurance were filed in New York City in the week ending April 18. The cumulative number of initial claims filed in the city since the week ending March 14 is 625,000.