"The seasonally adjusted February numbers show a one-month loss of 11,600 jobs in the City," said Comptroller Thompson. "This month's data clearly illustrate the City's jobs recession continues to deepen." Thompson also noted that the City's unemployment rate has increased to 8.8 percent, the highest since November 1997. This is an increase from the 8.6 percent January figure. Both January and February numbers have been reported according to the new NAICS classifications¹.

Gap with Nation's Year-over-Year Job Growth Widens in February

The February data show that the gap between New York City's job growth and that of the nation widened. Since December 2000, New York City has lost 226,100 jobs, of which 146,400 (or 64.8 percent) have been lost since September 2001. The City has lagged the nation since March 2001, with the gap opening up significantly in September 2001, and remaining significant to date, as may be seen in Chart 1.

Chart 1. New York City Continues to Lag the Nation, Year-over-Year Monthly Percent Changes in Jobs, January 2000 through January 2003, United States and New York City
Data Source: New York State Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seasonally Adjusted Jobs Were Down by 11,600 in February, with Losses in Both Blue-Collar and White-Collar Jobs

Using the new NAICS classifications, significant job losses (more than 1,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis) in February include both blue-collar and white-collar job categories. Blue-collar losses were in construction (down 2,400) and manufacturing (down 2,200). White-collar losses were in Information, Financial Activities, Professional and Business Services, and Administrative Jobs. These numbers may be seen in Chart 2, which combines several related NAICS categories to simplify the analysis that follows.

Chart 2. Change in New York City Jobs by NAICS Category, February 2003 Compared with January 2003, Seasonally Adjusted
Data Source: New York State Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Revised Series based on NAICS Job Categories, March 13, 2003.

The February Unemployment Rate of 8.8% Is Highest Since November 1997

New York City's February seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.8 percent is 3.0 percentage points higher than that of the nation's seasonally adjusted 5.8 percent. The difference is the largest since January 1999, when the gap was also 3 percentage points.

Unemployment by Borough

Within New York City, on a nonseasonally adjusted basis, the February unemployment rate was highest in the Bronx at 11.3 percent and lowest in Queens at 7.7 percent. Unemployment was 10.1 percent in Brooklyn, 9.1 percent in Manhattan and 7.8 percent in Staten Island.

On a year-over-year basis, unemployment rose the most in the Bronx, a 2.4 percentage-point increase from 8.9 percent in February 2002 to 11.3 percent in February 2003. The next-highest increase was 1.8 percentage points in Staten Island, from 6.0 percent in February 2002 to 7.8 percent in February 2003. Brooklyn's unemployment rate rose by 1.6 percentage points, Queens by 1.0 percentage point and Manhattan by 0.8 percentage point.