LOCAL LABOR CONDITIONS – Spring/Summer 2026
10
Figure 1. Unemployment Rates in U.S., NYC & Long Island, April 2024-2026 (% monthly, seasonally adjusted)
9
8
7
6
NYC
5
4
US
3
LongIsland 2
1 A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
2024
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
2025
O 2026
Table 1: Number of Nonfarm Jobs: New York City, Long Island & All U.S., 2025–2026 (in thousands, not seasonally adjusted)
U.S. NYState NYC Long Island
April
April
2026
2025
158,736 158,368 9,929.5 9,904.2 4,821.6 4,782.3 1,380.2 1,377.9
April 2025-2026 Net Chg % Chg
368.0 25.3 39.3 2.3
0.2 0.3 0.8 0.2
Table 1 Source: Establishment survey data from US Dept. of Labor. Note that data reflect regular revisions by Dept. of Labor.
N
D
J
F
M
A
Table 2: Job Growth Rates (%): April 2018-2026 Long All US NYC Island 2019 1.4 2.5 0.2 2020 -13.4 -19.1 -23.4 2021 10.9 11.3 22.1 2022 4.9 8.1 4.3 2023 2.5 2.6 1.2 2024 1.4 2.7 1.4 2025 0.6 0.3 1.4 2026 0.2 0.8 0.2 Table 2 Source: CES (not seasonally adj.)
Figure 2: NYC Job Changes by Industry, April 2025 - April 2026 (in thousands of jobs and % change)
25 20
1.7%
15 10
1.3%
1.9% -1.7%
5
-0.1%
-0.7%
0.9%
-0.5%
0 -5 -10
-0.7% -1.4%
-4.4%
Fig. 3: Long Island Job Changes by Industry, April 2025 - April 2026 (in thousands of jobs and % changes)
12 10
3.2%
8 6
-1.0%
4 2
0.9%
-1.7
-0.2%
-2.2%
-2.8%
-0.3%
-2.2%
0 -2
-0.7%
-0.1%
-4
Table 3: Civilian Labor Force, Employment & Unemployment, 2025-26 (in thousands, not seasonally adjusted)
Labor Force
AREA U.S. NYS NYC LONG ISLAND Nassau Co. Suffolk Co.
Unemployed
Unemp. Rate
April
April
April
Employed April
April
April
April
April
2026
2025
2026
2025
2026
2025
2026
2025
170,837 10,005 4,404
169,363 9,960 4,385
164,069 9,589 4,192.8
162,781 9,585 4,181.4
6,768 415.6
6,582 374.9
4.0% 4.2
3.9% 3.8
211.3
203.4
4.8
4.6
1,516 713 804
1,509 709 800
1,465.0 689.2 775.8
1,466.5 689.9 776.6
51.1 23.3 27.8
42.6 19.3 23.3
3.4 3.3 3.5
2.8 2.7 2.9
Table 3 Source: CPS household survey data from NYS Dept. of Labor. Data reflect their regular revisions.
Table 4: Real Wage Growth Slows: All US & NYC, April 2019-2026 Private Sector 2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
All US Real Wage/hr [$2026] Annual % Change
$36.03
$36.28 0.7
$39.06 7.7
$37.71 -3.5
$36.81 -2.4
$36.98 0.5
$37.01 0.1
$37.52 1.4
$37.49 -0.1
NYC Real Wage/hr [$2026] Annual % Change
$47.94
$48.43 1.03
$51.38 6.09
$50.49 -1.73
$47.82 -5.29
$48.14 0.66
$45.60 -5.26
$45.17 -0.94
$45.19 0.03
Table 4 Source: BLS payroll survey, CES (not seasonally adj.)
7.00
Fig. 4: Price Inflation Rates: All US & NYC Metro, 2023-26
5.00
NYC Metro
4.00 3.00
All US
2.00 1.00 0.00
J2023 F M A M J J A S O N D J2024 F M A M J J A S O N D J2025 F M A M J J A S O N D J2026 F M A
Inflation Rate, 12-mo.(%)
6.00
Jan. 2023-April 2026