According to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor, the number of private sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 14,400, or 0.2%, to 8,471,700 in April 2025. The number of private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 0.1% in April 2025.
New York State’s private sector jobs (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 85,000, or 1.0%, over the year in April 2025, lower than the 1.2% increase in the number of private sector jobs in the U.S.
New York State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held constant at 4.2% in April 2025. At the same time, New York State’s labor force (seasonally adjusted) increased by 14,600. The statewide labor force participation rate increased from 60.9% in March to 61.0% in April 2025.
The number of private sector jobs in New York State is based on a payroll survey of New York businesses conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more complete data become available the following month. The BLS calculates New York State’s unemployment rate based partly upon the results of the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of approximately 2,800 households in the State.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March 2025 was revised down by 7,700, from +6,300 to -1,400. At the same time, the change in total private employment was revised down by 7,100, from +5,600 to -1500. Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.
Note: Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. Non-seasonally adjusted data are valuable in year-to-year comparisons of the same month – for example, April 2024 versus April 2025.
April 2025 – Seasonally Adjusted
- On a net basis, the total number of nonfarm jobs in the state increased by 15,400 over the month, while private sector jobs increased by 14,400 in April 2025.
- At the same time, the total number of nonfarm jobs in the nation increased by 177,000, while private sector jobs increased by 167,000.
NYS Exceeded Nation in Total Nonfarm and Total Private Job Growth
Over-the-Month % Change in Total Nonfarm & Private Sector Jobs, March – April 2025
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Total Nonfarm and Private Sector Jobs Up in April 2025
Total Nonfarm and Private Sector Jobs (in 1000s), January 1990 – April 2025
April 2025 – Seasonally Adjusted
- The statewide unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% in April 2025.
- New York City’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.1% to 5.0%.
- In the rest of the state, the unemployment rate decreased from 3.6% to 3.5% in April 2025.
- The number of unemployed New Yorkers decreased over the month by 6,600 from 417,000 in March to 410,400 in April 2025.
NYS Unemployment Rate Held Steady Over the Month
Labor Force Statistics, Apr 2024, Mar 2025 – Apr 2025
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Labor Force Increased, Number of Unemployed Decreased
Total Labor Force & Number of Unemployed, January 2009 – April 2025
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Unemployment Rate Held Steady in NYS and US
Unemployment Rate, NYS & US, January 2009 – April 2025
Unemployment Rate Decreased in NYC and Balance of State
Unemployment Rate, NYC & BOS, January 2009 – April 2025
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April 2025 – Not Seasonally Adjusted
New York State Gained Private Sector Jobs Over the Year
Over-the-Year Change in Total Nonfarm & Private Sector Jobs, April 2024 – April 2025
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Note: The sum of substate area job estimates will usually differ from the New York State total. This is because the State total is calculated separately from the sub-state areas and is estimated based on an independent sample.
Natural Resources and Mining Jobs Increased by 5.6% Over the Year
Over-the-Year Change in Jobs by Major Industry Sector, April 2024 – April 2025
*Government includes public education and public health services.
Note: The responsibility for the production of monthly estimates of state and metro area nonfarm employment by industry moved from the NYS Department of Labor’s Division of Research and Statistics to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), starting with the March 2011 estimates. More detailed information on the change is available on the BLS web site.
Many economic data series have a seasonal pattern, which means they tend to occur at the same time each year (e.g., retail jobs usually increase in December). Seasonal adjustment is the process of removing seasonal effects from a data series. This is done to simplify the data so that they may be more easily interpreted and help to reveal true underlying trends. Seasonal adjustment permits comparisons of data from one month to data from any other month.
In New York State, payroll jobs data by industry come from a monthly survey of business establishments conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data are preliminary and subject to revision. Jobs data by industry do not include agricultural workers, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, or domestic workers in private households.
Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate is based partly upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 2,800 households in New York each month.
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