Jones Lang LaSalle


NYC economy weakened by 1,600 jobs in April
by Tom Fredrickson
May 18, 2006

a decline in government employment, but the private sector grew and the low unemployment rate remained stable.

New York City's overall job picture weakened by 1,600 jobs in March because of a decline in government employment, but the private sector grew and the low unemployment rate remained stable.

The decline, which reduced year-to-date job gains to 32,000, came as the result of the public sector shrinking by 3,000 jobs. The dropoff continued a recent trend of highly variable local government job numbers.

The Private sector, the more important economic barometer, added 1,500 jobs in April, while March private sector jobs were revised downward by 400.

The numbers come from Barbara Byrne Denham, an economist with Jones Lang LaSalle, who seasonally adjusted numbers from the state Department of Labor. The biggest surprise in the numbers, she noted, was the securities industry losing 1,000 jobs after having gained an average of 1,400 jobs in the first three months of 2006.

The state also reported that New York City's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in April was unchanged from the previous month, while the whole state's rate was at its lowest level in five years, according to the Labor Department.

The City's unemployment rate of 5.4% was 0.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier but still higher than the nationwide rate of 4.7%.

Statewide, the unemployment rate excluding New York City, increased to 4.6% in April from 4.3% in March. The rate in the state as a whole stood at 4.9% in April - its lowest rate since 2001.