COMPTROLLER THOMPSON ISSUES "THE C-NOTE: AN UPDATE ON THE RECESSION'S IMPACT ON NEW YORKERS" 
- New analysis finds more than 400,000 New Yorkers unemployed -
- Number of unemployed for more than 15 weeks has ballooned, almost 130,000 New Yorkers unemployed for more than six months-
- Explosion in "Involuntary" part-time work falls hardest on women -
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued the latest version of "The C-Note," the periodic column focusing on economic and budget issues affecting New York City.
You can view the column by visiting www.comptroller.nyc.gov and by clicking on the ticker at the top of the home page. In previous weeks, The C-Note has presented columns on the Comptroller's priorities to help the City weather the storm created by the current economy, provided insight into the City's bond sales, and analyzed the Mayor's budget.
The C-NOTE: An Update on the Recession's Impact on New Yorkers
By William C. Thompson, Jr.
New York City Comptroller
In July, my office released the latest version of our periodic newsletter "Economic Notes," featuring a special focus on the impact the recession is having on the unemployed residents of New York City. Because we have become accustomed to viewing unemployment as statistics and rates, my office aimed to humanize the toll the recession is having on residents of our City. We broke down the numbers in a way that illustrates just how devastating this downturn has been to a wide range of New Yorkers.
My office has been monitoring this recession closely and has updated the profile of the unemployed to include information on the second quarter of 2009. As the unemployment rate climbed by 4 percentage points from the first quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, the number of unemployed New York City residents almost doubled. In fact, the number increased by 40,000 from the first to the second quarter of 2009 alone, reflected in the table below.
Nearly all ethnic categories saw sharp increases in unemployment numbers during the second quarter of 2009. However, after outpacing other racial and ethnic groups in the growth in unemployment in the first quarter, we found the number of African-American New Yorkers who were unemployed decreased in a quarter over quarter comparison. This could be due to an increasing number of these workers becoming discouraged at their prospects of finding a job and therefore have stopped their job search.
We found the numbers of unemployed who have been without work for less than five weeks decreased from the first quarter. While this could be seen as an encouraging indication of reduced layoffs, the number of people unemployed for 15 weeks or more ballooned in the second quarter. In fact, almost 130,000 New Yorkers have been unemployed and searching for work for more than six months.
Unemployed has surpassed 400,000
Back in the fall of 2008, I estimated that as many as 250,000 jobs could be lost as a result of this recession, sending the number of unemployed in New York City to more than 400,000. Unfortunately, we have passed the 400,000 mark ahead of schedule.
After analyzing the numbers released last week by the State Labor Department, my office has concluded that the number of New Yorkers who are currently unemployed is 402,200, the highest number since July of 1992.
As the recession begins to bottom out, we can expect the unemployment rate to continue to rise even as jobs begin to appear because the number of people who are seeking work will rise along with those jobs.
I have not yet adjusted my estimation that a quarter million jobs could be lost during this downturn. However, I do remain hopeful that my estimate will not be realized and that once we begin to put the federal stimulus funds to use, our City will begin to create jobs, placing us on the path to recovery.
Number of New Yorkers working part-time involuntarily has exploded
Not everyone who has been hit by this recession has lost their job. For many people, the downturn has meant fewer hours than they used to work, or taking a part-time job when a full-time job is desired. This phenomenon is especially pronounced in this recession nationally compared to previous downturns. I wanted to see if New York followed the national pattern, since data on the labor force allow us to compute the number of people who are working part-time "for economic reasons" - that is, because they cannot get full time work.
In the first half of 2009, nearly 170,000 New Yorkers were working part-time for economic reasons, an increase of about 70,000 (over 70 percent) from the year before. This under-employment has fallen particularly hard on women, who accounted for the majority of this increase. While nationally, women's involuntary part-time employment rose faster than men's, the disparity between men and women is much narrower. It is not immediately clear why increasing involuntary part-time employment for women in New York City is so disproportionate to the national trend. It is likely to be related to differences in the mix of industries and occupations in New York and the U.S.
Source: NYC Comptroller's Office using CPS microdata
What this new analysis clearly shows is that no matter what age group, gender, education or race, unemployment and under-employment is causing many New Yorkers to suffer immensely during this recession. My office will continue to analyze the data as it is presented and will offer periodical updates on the health of our economy.