Tuesday, April 22, 2003


(And how many more do you think New Jersey lost with the implosion in the telecom industry (ATT, Lucent, Avaya and all the consultants who worked there, too?------NewYorkMetroTechnologyJobs)

STATE LOST 293,000 JOBS IN 2-YR. SLUMP

By KENNETH LOVETT
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April 22, 2003 -- ALBANY - New York lost 293,000 jobs statewide in 2001 and 2002 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a bear market and the nationwide economic downturn, a report yesterday by state Comptroller Alan Hevesi shows.
And while the job losses have slowed, Hevesi said chances of a major turnaround in New York this year will depend greatly on improvements in the national economy, which in turn will be affected by the world situation.

"Since these uncertainties have continued into the second quarter of 2003, the prospect for economic recovery and job growth in New York this year is diminishing," he wrote.

Total employment in 2001 and 2002 dropped by 2.3 percent, to 8.4 million, according to the report.

New York City experienced half the overall losses, with jobs falling by 148,600. "Although there were hopes for an improved economy that might have led to job gains in 2002, the national and state economics continued to be weak and jobs declined even further, so that the rate of decline in 2002 exceeded that of 2001," he said in the report.

Big Apple private-sector employment between 2000 and 2002 dropped by 4.7 percent, compared with a 3 percent drop in the state as a whole. Total employment in the city declined to 3.6 million, a 4 percent drop, compared to a 2.3 percent drop statewide, according to the report.

But there was some good news.

The rate of job losses statewide has slowed recently, and did not erase the major gains seen during the 1992-2000 economic boom.

In addition, the total loss of 293,000 jobs was only about half of those seen during the 1989-92 recession in New York.

And while upstate and the city struggled in recent years, suburban areas generally did better, and job gains were posted in the professional and business services and by education and health care.

Stephen Kagann, an economist for Gov. Pataki, said the Hevesi reports "reaffirms what we have been saying about the impact of Sept. 11 and the national economic downturn."

He said the 2003 numbers already show "substantial improvement and a positive trend."

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