Regional Labor Force Trends in New York State

From Program on Applied Demographics at Cornell University, prepared by Elizabeth (Jade) Womak, Research Support Specialist

The objective of this white paper is to expand on the September 2017 “Labor Force Trends in New York State” report authored by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, and to highlight its findings in regards to the 10 Economic Development Regions of New York State. The September report’s key findings are that 1) the labor force for New York State has been decreasing and 2) there has been a surge in participation of older individuals (65+ years and older) in the labor force.

This white paper will discuss Finding 1, which is notably prevalent in 5 of the 10 Economic Development Regions. Additionally, this white paper will discuss Finding 2 by exploring changes in population growth and labor force shares of “aged-out”prime working age individuals (65+). Unlike the September 2017 report, this paper has a focus on examining labor force trends by Economic Development Region.

New Survey Shows New York Small Business Economic Sentiment in Unprecedented Geographic Detail

SAN FRANCISCO, CA --"Thumbtack.com will be releasing [this week] the Thumbtack Small Business Sentiment Survey, a first-of-its-kind survey that captures the economic sentiment of more than 10,000 small businesses nationwide on a monthly basis, including 768 responses over two years in New York. Starting this week, and released on a monthly basis going forward, the survey and accompanying visualization allow anyone to explore American small business economic sentiment at the national and local level. Designed with Bloomberg, all data will be housed and integrated seamlessly into the economic functions of the Bloomberg Professional service.

"The full results for New York can be seen here and include how businesses in each area responded to survey questions, and hundreds of quotes from small businesses nationwide. Each state and city also has its own dedicated webpage showing detailed survey results for that area.

"This new survey provides a first-of-its-kind, monthly look at the economic sentiment of tens of thousands of small business owners across the country, including 5,404 responses collected over two years in New York. The first publicly released data for this survey show that New York's small businesses reported a 4.5 point jump (out of 100) in their feelings about the economy over the past 12 months."

You can read the methodology paper here.

For more information about the survey or the methodology, please email Thumbtack’s Chief Economist Jon Lieber at jon.lieber@thumbtack.com.

Florida Passes New York to Become the Nation’s Third Most Populous State

From the Census Bureau:

By adding an average of 803 new residents each day between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, Florida passed New York to become the nation’s third most populous state, according to U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates released today. Florida’s population grew by 293,000 over this period, reaching 19.9 million. The population of New York increased by 51,000 to 19.7 million.

California remained the nation’s most populous state in 2014, with 38.8 million residents, followed by Texas, at 27.0 million. Although the list of the 10 most populous states overall was unchanged, two other states did change positions, as North Carolina moved past Michigan to take the ninth spot.

Another milestone took place in Georgia (ranked 8th), which saw its population surpass 10 million for the first time.

North Dakota was the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year. Its population increased 2.2 percent, followed by the 1.7 percent growth in Nevada and Texas. Each of the 10 fastest-growing states was in the South or West with the exception of North Dakota. 

Six states lost population between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014: Illinois (9,972 or -0.08 percent), West Virginia (3,269 or -0.18 percent), Connecticut (2,664 or -0.07 percent), New Mexico (1,323 or -0.06 percent, Alaska (527 or -0.07 percent) and Vermont (293 or -0.05 percent).

The United States as a whole saw its population increase by 2.4 million to 318.9 million, or 0.75 percent.

The State of Municipal Historians in New York

New York State requires every municipality to have a historian. This means every village, every town, every city, every county, and, of course, at the state level. Hamlets can ponder “should we or should we not have an historian, that is the question” but they are not legally obligated to have one. Nor are neighborhoods. That might seem self-evident outside New York City, but one should realize that the neighborhoods in the city can be substantially larger than even some cities.
Naturally, even when you are required to have a historian by state law there is no assistance from the state in support of that position. It is an unfunded mandate.
Let’s examine the state of these municipal historians.


- See more at New York History blog.

State of Injustice: How New York State Turns its Back on the Right to Counsel for the Poor

The right to an attorney is guaranteed under the United States Constitution. In 1963, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that everyone accused of a crime is entitled to a competent lawyer even if he or she cannot afford one.

But more than 50 years later, poor and often innocent New Yorkers are forced through the criminal justice system and sent to jail undefended and alone.

State of Injustice: How New York State Turns its Back on the Right to Counsel for the Poor focuses on five counties: Onondaga (Syracuse), Suffolk, Ontario, Schuyler and Washington. In each of these counties, people too poor to afford private attorneys too often appear before judges without a lawyer by their side, or are forced to navigate the criminal justice system with a revolving cast of overworked attorneys unfamiliar with their cases. Public defense attorneys who strive to protect the rights of their clients are too often thwarted by caseloads up to five times the recommended maximums and a lack of resources for investigations, experts and even workplace basics like computers.

More from the NYCLU.

Census Bureau QuickFacts

QuickFacts tables are summary profiles showing frequently requested data items from various Census Bureau programs. Profiles are available for the nation, states, counties, and places

For New York State.
For the United States.

New York State Statistical Yearbook

The New York State Statistical Yearbook is published annually by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government in cooperation with the Office of the Governor and the New York State Division of the Budget. Similar to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, the Yearbook is organized into chapters focusing on specific governmental functions or subjects, such as Education, Transportation, and Finances.

At the beginning of each of these 15 sections, “Highlight” information is provided along with a listing of tables in that section. For most of the tables, data are presented for the five boroughs of New York City and the 57 counties outside New York City. The Yearbook has been available online since 2002.

New York State and energy

From HERE.

In 2010, New York was the eighth largest energy consumer in the United States, but, due in part to its widely used mass transportation systems, it had the second lowest energy consumption per capita after Rhode Island.

The Marcellus shale, which underlies southwestern New York, is estimated to hold at least 141 trillion cubic feet in technically recoverable natural gas.

The 2,353-megawatt Robert Moses Niagara hydroelectric power plant was the fourth largest hydroelectric power plant in the United States in 2010 and, in 2011, New York produced more hydroelectric power than any other State east of the Rocky Mountains.

New York's Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 30 percent of electricity come from renewable energy resources by 2015; in 2011, 24 percent of electricity came from renewable energy resources.

In 2011, New York had the fourth highest average electricity prices in the United States.

More than half of New York households (53 percent) use individual window or wall air conditioning units, while only 20 percent have a central air conditioning system, according to EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey.


More Energy Information Agency data and maps.

Segregation/Intergration Data: 2010 Dissimilarity Indices for Sixty-Two Places in NYS

From the Herkimer and Oneida census guru, Dale Miller:

Here are the most Dissimilarity Indices for 62 New York State places based on the 2010 Census. There are basically three sets of indices in this single table: Dissimilarity indices between non-Hispanic whites and blacks, non-Hispanic whites and Asians, and Non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. The Dissimilarity Index is the most commonly used measure of segregation between two groups, reflecting their relative distributions across neighborhoods within a city or metropolitan area. It can range in value from 0, indicating complete integration, to 100, indicating complete segregation. In most cities and metro areas, however, the values are somewhere between those extremes.

New York State Statistical Yearbook

The New York State Statistical Yearbook provides more than 700 pages of data, tables, graphs and maps on the state's people, economy and government, as well as selected comparisons with other states. Who needs this information? Members of the news media, government officials, citizens and others. The data enhance understanding of the economic and social environment in which state government operates. Such improved understanding is increasingly important as tough decisions must be made in a challenging fiscal climate.

Originated 35 years ago as a joint project of the Rockefeller Institute and the state Division of the Budget, the Statistical Yearbook is now available both in print and online, where data appear in both Excel spreadsheet and PDF format. The Institute is exploring options for placing additional relevant data about New York State government online.

Taxable Sales and Purchases

Sales Tax: Taxable Sales and Purchases - County and Industry Data for March 2008 - February 2009

Article 29 of the Tax Law authorizes counties, cities and some school districts to impose a local sales tax as a complement to the statewide tax. This report presents statistical information on taxable sales and purchases subject to the county or the New York City (NYC) sales tax.
Taxable sales include nearly all retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services. Taxable purchases represent the value of tangible personal property or services purchased for use in business operations (which would otherwise be subject to tax) on which no sales tax was previously paid.

Ruling On New York State's So-Called "Amazon Law"

In litigation of national significance, a recent State appellate court ruling upheld New York law requiring Internet retailers to collect sales tax on sales to New York customers, in litigation of national significance.

To view the entire document please visit HERE.

Annual Statistical Report of NYS Tax Collections

2009-2010 Annual Statistical Report of New York State Tax Collections - Statistical Summaries and Historical Tables.

This publication contains a series of statistical tabulations detailing taxes administered by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The information presented includes revenues and selected tax structure and consumption information for the State's major taxes. It also presents data for some locally imposed taxes.

This edition presents information for New York State Fiscal Year 2009-2010 (SFY 2009-2010) and some historical statistics. New York State's fiscal year is April 1 - March 31.

Monthly tax collection information is also available HERE.

Updated Legislative Spending Posted on Internet

Office expenditures of individual state Senators and Assembly members for the six months ending September 30, 2009, the latest period for which data are available, have been posted in a searchable format on the Empire Center's government transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net.

The full text of this press release is available here.

Contact: Lise Bang-Jensen
518.434.3100

Handbook of New York State and Local Taxes, August 2009 Edition

The Handbook of New York State and Local Taxes provides a general descriptive overview of the taxes which New York State and its local governments impose, and is revised periodically to reflect recently enacted law changes. It does not include non-tax revenue sources such as motor vehicle fees and the Lottery. Instead, it focuses on taxes, especially those administered by the Department of Taxation and Finance.

New York Leads in Per-Pupil Public Education Spending at Nearly $16,000

Public schools in New York spent $15,981 per pupil in 2007, which was more than any other state or state equivalent, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. (See Table 11.) New Jersey ($15,691) and the District of Columbia ($14,324) had the next-highest spending. States spending the least per pupil were Utah ($5,683), Idaho ($6,625) and Tennessee ($7,113).

On average, each state spent $9,666 per pupil in 2007, a 5.8 percent increase over 2006. Of total public school financing, state governments contributed 47.6 percent, followed by local sources, which contributed 44.1 percent, and federal sources, which made up the remaining 8.3 percent.

Love and marriage (and divorce)

Marriage and divorce stats in NYS are tracked by the state health department. You'll find them at Tables 46 through 52. 2008 data are not yet available.

Table 46 - Marriages by Age of Bride and Age of Groom, New York State Exclusive of New York City
Table 47 - Marriages by County of Occurrence and Month of Ceremony, New York State
Table 48 - Dissolutions of Marriage by County of Decree and Type of Decree, New York State
Table 49 - Dissolutions of Marriage by Duration and Type of Decree by Region, New York State
Table 50 - Divorces by County of Decree and Legal Grounds, New York State
Table 51 - Divorces by County of Decree and Duration of Marriage, New York State
Table 52 - Divorces by County of Decree and Number of Children Under 18, New York State

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

41 Million Licensed Americans May Be Unfit for Roads

Results from the http://media.gmacfs.com/index.php?s=43&item=330
2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released today found that 20.1 percent of licensed Americans - amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road - would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today. Overall, findings from the fifth annual survey indicate the number of drivers with knowledge of basic road rules is decreasing, with this year’s test scores lower than last year’s (76.6 percent vs. 78.1 percent).

Idaho and Wisconsin drivers tied for first in the nation, with an average test score of 80.6 percent; New York drivers ranked last, with an average score of 70.5 percent. This is the second time Idaho ranked first and the second time New York has ranked last in the survey’s five-year history.