Economic Trends & Policy

New York’s Public Sector Workforce Threatened by Lack of Federal Aid

New York’s public sector workforce is comprised of many of our state’s essential workers: nurses, teachers, firefighters, personal care aides, childcare workers, and more. In total, 24 major occupational groups – defined as having 10,000 or more workers – are part of the sector. A recent economic news release from BLS indicates that over 100,000 public sector workers in New York were laid off from their jobs between February and May of 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and declining state revenues. Characteristics of New [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T13:37:56-05:00June 13th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Fact Sheets|

NYS Unemployment Factsheet for April

New York State’s April 2020 unemployment rate stood at 14.5 percent – up from 4.1 percent in March -and was the state’s largest recorded monthly increase since 1976 when the current record-keeping began. In the seven weeks between March 10 and April 25, 2020, New York State processed over 1.5 million initial unemployment insurance claims from residents, which represents more people than the entire population of the state of Maine. Look for more monthly factsheets covering unemployment in New York State. Read the factsheet here.

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T13:36:51-05:00June 13th, 2020|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Fact Sheets|

Unemployment Insurance Taxes Paid for Undocumented Workers in NYS

May 14, 2020 In the midst of a pandemic, there has been a growing call for undocumented immigrants, who make up five percent of the New York State labor force, to be covered by some form of unemployment insurance. What is often overlooked in discussions of unemployment insurance is the extent to which undocumented immigrants are already part of paying into the existing system, even when they are excluded from collecting benefits. Undocumented immigrants face the same challenges as other workers. It does not serve [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T13:54:09-05:00May 13th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Health Care, Reports, briefs and presentations|

New York’s Unemployment System Depends on Continued Federal Assistance

May 11, 2020 Following the Great Recession, New York's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund only achieved a positive fund balance for the first time in fiscal year 2016. On January 1, 2020, the balance stood at $2.65 billion, but the fund was nearing insolvency according to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor. Since the COVID-19 pandemic mitigation began eight weeks ago, over 1.7 million New York residents have filed for unemployment, which is roughly 5 percent of the nation’s total filings and represents more [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T13:54:52-05:00May 11th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Must Read, Reports, briefs and presentations|

Press Release: Spotlight on New York’s Essential Workers

April 8, 2020 Overlooked, Underpaid and Indispensible Read the report: https://fiscalpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Essential-Workers-Brief-Final.pdf (Albany, NY) Today the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) released a new report spotlighting New York's essential workers who are on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the new analysis, there are 2.2 million “essential workers” in New York State. Twenty-two percent of these essential workers support their families on low incomes, with family incomes of less than 200 percent of the poverty level. Statement from David Dyssegaard Kallick, Deputy Director, Fiscal Policy Institute: “The pandemic has brought [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T14:00:03-05:00April 8th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, New York State, Press releases|

New York’s Essential Workers Overlooked, Underpaid, and Indispensable

The coronavirus crisis has put a new focus on “essential workers,” people who are bringing deliveries to our homes, working in supermarkets and convenience stores, keeping the public transportation system functioning, providing social services and childcare, and working in the healthcare industry. These essential workers have always played a critical role in keeping our communities running. At a time when many streets are eerily empty, however, we can see all the more clearly who is still out there making sure people get food on the [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T14:01:54-05:00April 8th, 2020|Creating Vibrant Communities, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Must Read, Reports, briefs and presentations|

FPI’s New Report Highlights the Unequal State of New York

For Immediate Release: December 6, 2019 Media Contact: Fern Whyland, Communications Director, whyland@fiscalpolicy.org, 315-436-0558 The Unequal State of New York The Majority of Income is Captured by the Fewest New Yorkers Read the report: The Unequal State of New York click here. (Albany, NY) The Fiscal Policy Institute reports that New York State has the most unequal income distribution in the nation, with the fewest people capturing the greatest share. Not since the “Gilded Age” of the 1920s has our state seen such a vast divide [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:46:27-05:00December 6th, 2019|Creating Vibrant Communities, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Housing, Press releases, Reports, briefs and presentations|

Media Roundup: The Staggering Cost of Long Island’s Opioid Crisis

September 10, 2019. On Wednesday, September 4, the Long Island Community Foundation, the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) marked National Recovery Month by unveiling a ground-breaking report “The Staggering Cost of Long Island’s Opioid Crisis” showing the economic impact of addiction. In addition to the devastating personal costs, the opioid health crisis has had a significant impact on Long Island’s economy through lost productivity, and other costs to businesses, emergency services, libraries, and others. [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:35:56-05:00September 10th, 2019|Economic Outlook, FPI in the News|

New Report: Economic Impact of Long Island’s Opioid Crisis

The Fiscal Policy Institute’s new report “The Staggering Cost of Long Island’s Opioid Crisis” revealed the economic impact of this health crisis and how the financial burden is borne by all of us: as taxpayers, consumers, and businesses. While the devastating personal costs of addiction have always been clear, the report shows just how significant the effect has been on Long Island’s economy through lost productivity, and other costs to businesses, emergency services, libraries, and others. On Long Island, the opioid-related health crisis resulted in a [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:36:07-05:00September 5th, 2019|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Press releases|

Press Release: Fair Pay for Farm Workers is Affordable

For immediate release: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 Contact: Fern Whyland, whyland@fiscalpolicy.org, 315-436-0558 The new report: "Farm Workers' Overtime Pay is Affordable and Long Overdue" New Report Shows that Fair Pay for Farm Workers is Affordable Our state can end the archaic exclusion of job protections for farm workers (Albany, NY) Today the Fiscal Policy Institute released a new report “Farm Workers’ Overtime Pay is Affordable and Long Overdue” which looks at how giving farm workers the same rights and protection as other workers, including overtime pay for long hours, [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:29:51-05:00May 28th, 2019|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Press releases|

Report: Farm Workers’ Overtime Pay Is Affordable and Long Overdue

May 28, 2019. Today the Fiscal Policy Institute released a new report “Farm Workers’ Overtime Pay is Affordable and Long Overdue” which looks at giving farm workers the same rights and protection as other workers, including overtime pay for long hours, would affect farms, farm workers, their local communities and the state. With the end of 2019 legislative session rapidly approaching, the Senate has conducted hearings on The Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act and attention is now shifting to the Assembly. California, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Maryland already include overtime pay [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:28:51-05:00May 28th, 2019|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Reports, briefs and presentations|

Income Divide Runs Deep

April 7, 2019. This article exposes the state's income gap problem by focusing on Saratoga County which has the distinction of being the fastest growing county but also the one with the greatest income disparity Upstate. Prompted by the Economic Policy Institutes's report "The New Gilded Age," the author Wendy Liberatore quotes their data, checks in with local community homeless and housing providers, and the Rev. Peter Cook, Executive Director for the New York Council of Churches, who detail the hardships that accompany the income disparity. [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-06T10:22:37-05:00April 8th, 2019|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, FPI in the News|

Reworking New York State’s Family Tax Credits

March 8, 2019. The human costs of child poverty are staggering. Experiencing poverty as a child – even for short stints – can impair brain development, physical and mental health, and academic achievement, and increase the possibility of child welfare involvement. And the impacts can last a lifetime. Childhood poverty is the single best predictor of adult poverty. Child poverty also imposes extraordinary economic costs to the state. A report just issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine estimates that child poverty costs the nation [...]

Cyierra Roldan2021-01-06T09:55:31-05:00March 8th, 2019|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, briefs and presentations|

FPI Supports Bill to End Company-Specific Subsidies

February 20, 2019. Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblymember Ron Kim were joined by Senator Michael Gianaris, the Fiscal Policy Institute, and community-based organizations as they introduced new legislation to end corporate welfare packages. The proposed bill would enact a collective agreement between all states that join, an interstate compact, to end the costly Race to the Bottom between different cities and states, which has cost many of them billions annually in taxpayers’ money for several decades. The legislation can be viewed here. “When states compete against each [...]

Shamier Settle2021-01-06T09:41:42-05:00February 20th, 2019|Press releases, Regional Economic Development|

Letter: Research Shows Higher Minimum Wage Good for Jobs

February 1, 2019. In a short rebuttal in regards to the minimum wage and whether it will negatively impact businesses, the author cites several studies that support the economic viability of enacting a higher minimum wage. In one research study, Dube, Lester, and Reich in a study “Minimum Wage Effect Across State Borders,” studied the effect of one state raising minimum wages while a bordering state did not raise its minimum wages and found no adverse effect on employment. A study by the Fiscal Policy Institute [...]

Anthony Troia2021-01-06T09:34:52-05:00February 1st, 2019|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, FPI in the News|

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