How many jobs were lost in New York last month?
Refreshed monthly
New York lost 23,500 jobs in August 2026, ranking it last among states in job growth. Those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' state employment report, which tracks monthly job changes. Job numbers can swing month to month as local economies expand or contract, but over the past five years the state has averaged about 14,300 new jobs per month. These figures are often revised in later months as more complete data rolls in.
-23.5K
month to month change in number of jobs (August 2026)
50th
rank among states in monthly job growth (August 2026)
August 2026's loss of 23,500 jobs was the 3rd consecutive month of negative job growth in New York. Monthly job growth was down from the 13,100 lost jobs in July 2026.
During the latest five year period (September 2021 to August 2026), New York gained jobs in 44 out of 60 months. August 2026 had the third-lowest job growth during this period. The highest gains during this period occurred in October 2021 (+125,600) while job growth was weakest in April 2025 (-53,100).
There were 23,500 fewer jobs in August 2026 in New York than the previous month.
Monthly change in nonfarm employment, September 2021–August 2026, seasonally adjusted
Which New York sectors and industries had the best and worst job growth in August 2026?
The three supersectors with the highest job growth in August 2026 were accommodation and food services, private educational services, and management of companies and enterprises. Accommodation and food services added 4,600 jobs, more than the entire economy. Private educational services gained 1,700 jobs, while management of companies and enterprises added 300. The remaining supersectors either posted smaller gains or lost jobs during the month.
The three lowest-performing supersectors were health care and social assistance, administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, and information. health care and social assistance lost 6,100 jobs in August 2026, while administrative and support and waste management and remediation services lost 6,000 jobs and information lost 5,800 jobs.
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The health care and social assistance sector lost 6,100 jobs during August 2026.
Change in jobs since previous month with circle size representing number of sector jobs in New York (August 2026)
How has New York's job growth changed over time?
In 2025, New York gained an average of 3,308 jobs every month. That's lower than the 2024 average monthly increase of 13,150, and the lowest since 2020. The 2025 average ranks as 16th-highest in job growth since 2007.
When excluding the two pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, job growth ranged from a loss of 18,100 on average every month in 2009 to a gain of 21,300 on average every month in 2022.
In 2025, New York gained an average of 3,300 jobs every month.
Average monthly change in the number of jobs, seasonally adjusted
Job growth among 13 metro areas primarily in New York during August 2026 ranged from a loss of 26,000 jobs in the New York, NY area to a gain of 500 jobs in the Kiryas Joel, NY area.
Monthly job growth, by metro area
Metro areas where at least one of its primary counties are within New York
| Metro area | Change in jobs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | +500 | |
| 2. | +400 | |
| 3. | +100 | |
| 4. | +100 | |
| 5. | +100 | |
| 6. | +0 | |
| 7. | +0 | |
| 8. | +0 | |
| 9. | -400 | |
| 10. | -500 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
