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Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul on Latest State Unemployment Data

Government and Politics

October 25, 2022

From: New York Governor Kathy Hochul

"The State Department of Labor released data today marking a significant milestone in New York's economic recovery: the unemployment rate has declined in every single county in the State compared to last year. New York's comeback is moving in the right direction.

"At this time two years ago, New York was hit hard by the pandemic and more than 980,000 New Yorkers were out of work. Climbing out of that economic hole has been difficult for families across New York, and there is more work to do. That's why we're continuing to take meaningful action to revitalize our economy, create and retain good-paying jobs, and invest in the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our local communities.

"We're making progress toward a statewide $15 minimum hourly wage to help workers struggling to make ends meet in the face of inflation and other rising costs, and honoring our essential workers with wage increases for nurses and home care aides and a $1.2 billion health care worker bonus program. We're investing $350 million in New York's workforce through our new Office of Strategic Workforce Development to fund top-tier job training and prepare New Yorkers for careers of the future and providing more than $1 billion in relief to small businesses still recovering from the pandemic. Earlier today, we announced applications are now being accepted for a $250 million tax credit to help businesses cover pandemic-related capital costs.   

"Too many New Yorkers are still feeling pain from the economic fallout of the pandemic and the rising cost of living. While the data released by the Department of Labor today is encouraging, we have more work to do to keep our economic comeback moving forward."