DiNapoli: “growing and expanding”
KINGSTON – New York is in good shape, economically speaking, although
it could be doing better. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli delivered
a concise snapshot of New York’s fiscal picture in Kingston Wednesday,
during a speech at the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce.
“There’s no doubt when you look at the various indicators,
our economy nationally continues to be in recovery, and here in New York
State as well, it’s growing and expanding,” DiNapoli said.
In March, New York’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, down from
a high of 9.6 percent back in January 2010. Ulster County’s March
comparison is slightly better at 5.2 percent, DiNapoli said. This reflects
a statewide re-growth of 625,000 private sector jobs over the past five
years, he added, “Many more than were lost in the depths of the
recession.” On Wednesday, the state Labor Department released April
figures, which look even more encouraging.
DiNapoli said the March numbers are quite lopsided regionally. A total
of 81 percent of the new jobs were created downstate, in the five boroughs
of New York and Long Island. “When you get north of New York City,
we still see great struggles out there,” DiNapoli noted.
The Mid-Hudson region lost 12,000 positions during the recession, and
only recovered three-quarters since 2010, although at a greater pace over
the past two years. Other regions are still losing jobs, DiNapoli said,
especially in the public sector due to budgetary contractions — 72,000
statewide.
“We see some weakness in sales tax collection; not sure why.”
DiNapoli indicated. 2013-2014 revenues increased three percent, slower
than the four percent to five percent of previous years.
Housing market is on the upswing, but DiNapoli warned that housing affordability
continues to be a problem. Ulster County came in third to last place for
renters, with 55.1 percent of households paying more than 30 percent of
their income, after Greene and Bronx counties.
Wall Street brings in 19 percent of state revenues, with $16 billion in
profits, slightly down from the year before. “What we’ve seen
is that there are fewer jobs in financial services; these firms have been
staying profitable by shedding head count with fewer employees,”
DiNapoli said. The securities industry is currently 11 percent smaller
than it was before the global financial crisis.
Better budgeting and well-funded pension funds contribute to overall health,
DiNapoli said. “The state is in its strongest financial and budget
condition than it’s been in many years,” he said. Debt remains
a problem though, with $7 billion added this year.
A windfall of $7 billion from rogue bank settlements should be earmarked
for infrastructure, DiNapoli suggested. “A big chunk went to the
Tappan Zee Bridge replacement,” he noted. “The reality is
we’re an old state with infrastructure that’s been deteriorating
for too long.”
