NEWS RELEASE

INSTITUTE'S 'JUST THE FACTS' SHOWS NEW YORK
LAGGING OTHER STATES IN ALMOST EVERY INDUSTRY SECTOR

ALBANY—New York lags behind competing states' job creation in almost every major industrial sector, a new online report by The Public Policy Institute shows.

The Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, published the first installment of Just The Facts: Key Economic and Social Indicators for New York State. The report includes 11 tables comparing the 50 states' employment trends in most major industry sectors for the past 10 years, three years and one year. Later installments will provide updated analyses of how New York ranks in terms of taxes, government spending, other business costs, education and other indicators of economic and social well-being.

Over the 10 years ending in December 2003, New York ranked 41st among the states in creating private-sector jobs, Just The Facts shows. Private-sector employment in the Empire State rose 8.9 percent over the period, compared to a national growth rate of 16.5 percent. Over the last three years, New York had the same ranking, 41st, with a private-sector employment decline of 4.5 percent, compared to the national average decline of 2.8 percent. The state ranked 36th in private-sector employment activity during calendar 2003.

The Institute's report includes a first-ever comparison of "taxpaying" private employment in the 50 states. The analysis excludes government jobs, which are directly funded by taxpayers, as well as private-sector jobs in health care and social assistance. The majority of jobs in the latter category are indirectly funded by taxpayers through Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs.

Over the 10 years ending in December 2003, New York ranked 44th among the states in generating new "taxpaying" private-sector jobs, Just The Facts shows. Its growth of 6.6 percent was less than half the national average of 14.6 percent. In one positive sign, the Institute found that New York State performed better than the nation in this measure for calendar 2003, with a slight gain of 0.1 percent compared to a national job loss of 0.3 percent.

Just The Facts also compares employment trends in these industry sectors:

Manufacturing. Over the 10-year period, New York ranked 46th among the states. The Empire State's loss of 26.7 percent of manufacturing jobs compared to a national loss of 14.8 percent. New York also fared worse than the nation in the three- and one-year periods studied, although the disparities in those periods were smaller.

Construction. New York ranked 35th among the states for the decade ending in December 2003, with employment growth of 29.4 percent compared to the nation's 38.8 percent. It lagged most other states for the three- and one-year periods studied, as well.

Trade, transportation and utilities. New York ranked 48th among 50 states over the 10-year period, with an employment increase of 2.5 percent far behind the nation's 11.2 percent. For the most recent year, however, New York matched the national average, with a loss of 0.7 percent.

Information sector. New York had its best ranking in this sector, which includes traditional publishing, software, motion picture and sound recording, broadcasting, telecommunications and Internet services, and data processing. Over the past 10 years, the state ranked 38th among the 50 states with employment growth of 5 percent, compared to a U.S. average of 18 percent. In the last year, New York's information-sector employment dropped 4.2 percent, while nationwide employment fell 3.4 percent.

Financial activities. The Empire State ranked 49th over the 10-year period, losing 4.1 percent of its 1993 jobs while national employment increased 17 percent. Both the 10- and three-year measures include the enormous impact of the September 11, 2003, terrorist attacks. In the most recent one-year period, however, New York still performed worse than most states, with employment shrinking by 0.2 percent while nationwide employment grew 0.9 percent.

Professional and business services. Over the decade studied, New York added jobs at a strong rate, 23.3 percent, but that increase compared to 37.2 percent nationwide. The state ranked 42nd over both the 10- and three-year periods, and 35th in calendar 2003.

Healthcare and social assistance. Unlike its performance in other private-sector industries, in this sector, largely funded by taxpayers, New York added jobs over each of the periods studied. It ranked 39th over the decade, with an employment increase of 22.4 percent compared to the national average of 30.8 percent.

Hospitals. New York added jobs over each of the three periods studied in this sector, which is also funded largely by taxpayers. It ranked 43rd in the decade ending December 2003. For calendar 2003, however, New York ranked 24th, adding jobs at a rate of 1.7 percent while nationwide hospital employment was flat.

Government. Over the decade, New York was last among the 50 states, with employment rising by 3.2 percent compared to 12.6 percent nationwide. In the most recent three- and one-year periods, however, its rankings rose to 38th and 39th, respectively.

To view and print Just The Facts tables and maps, see www.ppinys.org/reports/JustTheFacts.htm.

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