New York’s Uneven Economy

Although the COVID pandemic caused double-digit unemployment levels in 2020, the nation’s recovery has been rapid. Unemployment decreased quickly in New York and the country, dropping to 4.4% percent in New York and 3.5% in the nation in July 2022. The recently announced July number for the United States is as low as pre-pandemic unemployment […]

With a New Governor, New York Faces Economic Challenges

For decades, New York has had substantial disparities in economic performance. Although some parts of the State are doing relatively well, much of it has declining employment, higher levels of poverty, lower household income levels, and fewer adults working than the nation. Over most of the past decade, job growth was limited to Eastern New […]

COVID-19 erased New York’s Employment Gains over the Past Decade

From June 2011 to June 2019, New York saw employment increase by 388,440 – 4.4%. But by June 2021, the pandemic had erased all those gains. In June, the state’s employment was lower than in 2011 – by 72,916 jobs or 0.8%. Both before the COVID pandemic and in June 2021, New York’s job performance […]

Poverty in Upstate Metropolitan Areas: Myths and Realities

We live in an era in which long-held attitudes about race have been heightened by political campaigns that attempt to mobilize fears among white voters about minority group members and immigrants.  These appeals have ranged from claims that President Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya and claims that criminal undocumented immigrants endanger […]

New York State Gave $2.6 Million to Build a Food Greenhouse that Pays One Dollar Above the Minimum Wage

In April of this year, Green Empire Farms in the central New York city of Oneida became notorious as the location of more than 170 Covid-19 cases.  The facility is a massive 2.8 million square foot greenhouse where vegetables and fruit, including strawberries and cucumbers, are produced.  County health officials believe that the outbreak occurred […]

President Trump’s Economic Renaissance – Fact or Fiction?

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump claimed that his policies would “Make America Great Again,” creating jobs by redressing trade imbalances.  He argued that “We will make America the best place in the world to start a business, hire workers, and open a factory,”   Trump claimed that he would change policies that  “allowed foreign countries […]

Covid-19: The Cost in Lost Jobs

With more than 190,000 lives lost and millions infected, Covid-19 has imposed a tragic toll on residents of the United States.  New York State was hit hard early on, and has lost 32,600 residents to the disease as of early September  But strong controls that shut down much of the state’s economy for weeks during […]

Despite Agitation to Reopen Businesses, Upstate Covid-19 Cases Are Not Declining

Upstate areas are seeing increasing pressure to reopen currently closed businesses as the economic damage from Covid-19 restrictions increases.  With millions of New Yorkers unemployed and businesses facing the prospect of permanent closure, there is real need for relief.  But reopening should take place in a way that does not lead to significant growth in […]

New Covid-19 Cases Decline Throughout New York

The number of new reported cases of Coronavirus in New York State has begun to decline.  The chart below, which shows the three-day moving average of new cases, indicates that after plateauing from April 3rd to April 10th, a decline began, with cases decreasing from a peak of more than 10,000 to less than 5,000 […]

Will New York Reopen for Business by May 1st?

Recent reports show that President Trump would like to reopen the national economy within a few weeks.  The Washington Post reported that “President Trump — concerned with the sagging economy — has sought a strategy for resuming business activity by May 1.”   More recently, the President said that he expected some states to reopen before […]