"The job increases in these two consecutive months make it likely we will have our first positive quarter of job growth since 2000. It is encouraging to see significant increases in the securities industry and construction," Thompson said.

"While the two-month rise of 17,600 jobs is welcome, seasonally adjusted
unemployment has risen to 8 percent, the highest since May 1998. Since
December 2000, the City of New York has still lost a net total of 128,800 jobs, of which 63 percent, or 81,200 jobs, have been lost since September 2001."

"We have a large cumulative loss of nearly 130,000 jobs, mostly lost since September," Thompson noted. "The nation had proportionally a much smaller loss of jobs. The City's four-year-high unemployment rate of eight percent shows our recovery is lagging far behind that of the nation as well as that of our own suburban neighbors."

Monthly Year-over-Year Changes 2000-2001

Year-over-year comparisons of monthly job losses since September 2001 show that the decline in New York City jobs is about three times greater percentage-wise than it is in the nation, as shown in Chart A. The number of jobs located in New York City in May was 101,900 below the number in May 2001, which is a decline of 2.7 percent. Nationally, jobs in May declined by only 1.0 percent on a year-over-year basis. (The revised month-over-month figures show an increase in U.S. jobs in May of 0.4 percent, the best showing since February 2001.)

Chart A. Monthly Payroll-Jobs Growth, NYC and the U.S., Year-over-Year, Percent Change, Jan. 00-May 02

Data Source: NYS and U.S. Departments of Labor. May 2002 data are preliminary; April 2002 data are revised.

Civilian Employment (Household Survey)

Civilian employment, the number of City residents with jobs, rose by 11,000 in May after a rise of 17,400 in April, reducing the cumulative loss since September 2001 to 11,100 working New Yorkers.

However, the month-to-month rise in May employment was accompanied by an even larger 22,900-person increase in the labor force, following a 27,300-person rise in April. The number of unemployed subsequently rose by 11,900 in May. This drove the May unemployment rate up to 8.0 percent, from 7.7 percent in April. The City's 8 percent rate of unemployment is its highest rate since May 1998.

Industry-by-Industry Job Numbers

The City's gain of 7,800 jobs in May is the sum of an increase of 4,400 private-sector jobs and an increase of 3,300 government jobs. Government jobs grew by 600 in the Federal sector (after declines in the previous four months totaling 2,800 jobs) and by 2,900 in the local-government sector (which is comprised of jobs in independent NYC government agencies such as the MTA). The State of New York and related agencies cut 200 jobs.

Of the 4,400 private-sector jobs, the major increases were a 1,200-job boost in the securities industry and a 2,700-job increase in services. Construction was up by 1,400 jobs, the biggest one-month growth since a 2,000-job increase in March 2000. Transportation and public utilities were up by 600 jobs. Insurance jobs rose by 500. Motion pictures and amusements rose by 400 jobs, legal services by 500.

But manufacturing was down by 1,200 jobs, trade by 300 jobs, real estate by 300 jobs, banking by 300, social services by 500, and health services by 800. The critical business-services sector was down by 900 jobs in May after an April rise of 3,000 jobs, which was the largest one-month increase since August 2000. Engineering and management services fell by 100 jobs.

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