ALBANY â€" Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration has boasted of New York’s private-sector job growth “setting records.†But the state actually slightly trailed the nation in private-sector job growth during the governor’s first two years in office.
The number of private-sector jobs increased by 4 percent in New York State from January 2011 to January 2013, according to the State Labor Department. Nationwide, over the same period, private sector jobs grew by 4.4 percent.
Those figures come despite the fact that New York State lost fewer jobs, as a percentage, than the nation did in the Great Recession. And they come as unemployment has fallen behind the national average on Mr. Cuomo’s watch; as of January, New York State’s unemployment rate (8.4 percent) still trailed the nation’s (7.9 percent).
The data is potentially troublesome for Mr. Cuomo as he ponders a presidential run.
In a news release last week, the Labor Department emphasized that the state had a good month from December 2012 to January 2013, and it emphasized that private-sector jobs had been growing for a record 17 straight months coming off the downturn.
Howard Glaser, the governor’s operations director, reacted sharply to reporters who raised questions about the overall job picture on Twitter. “Private sector job growth at record levels in NY (fact!)†he said in his own Twitter message.
Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative research group, said, “Judged objectively, it’s not a great trend,†adding, “I don’t think a governor can make a significant difference in two years.â€
“Then again, his administration is trying to act like they are making a difference, but the evidence doesn’t support them,! †Mr. McMahon said.
“Much of upstate is flat on its back and, really, the engine of growth more than ever is New York City,†he said. “And even with that, we’re not quite keeping pace with the national rate of growth.â€
