Subscribe for Latest Updates
The State Comptroller’s office is committed to keeping New Yorkers regularly updated on the state’s economy and finances. Subscribe to get the latest update.
August 5, 2020 Edition
Selected Economic Trends
Paycheck Protection Program Helps 72% of New York Small Businesses
Program Must Boost Aid to Underserved Communities
Nearly three-quarters of New York State small businesses received assistance in recent months through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to Census Bureau survey data for the week ending June 27.
$38.2 billion in PPP loans were approved for New York applicants through July 24, 2020, according to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which implements the program.
While the program has provided important support to many employers, a report by the SBA’s Inspector General found the agency did not adequately address the needs of traditionally underserved businesses: “Because SBA did not provide guidance to lenders about prioritizing borrowers in underserved and rural markets, those borrowers, including rural, minority and women-owned businesses, may not have received the loans as intended.” In addition, SBA has been criticized for publishing certain potentially inaccurate data on the program’s outcomes.
Leaders in Washington are considering extending the PPP as part of the next COVID-19 stimulus/relief legislation. The SBA must ensure that minority-owned and other underserved businesses have genuine access to federal funding through the PPP and other programs. Congress and the President should take every step possible to instill strong reporting and accountability mechanisms, as well.
Pandemic Drives Higher Need for SNAP, Medicaid, Cash Assistance
In the wake of the economic devastation of COVID-19, thousands more New Yorkers are relying on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and cash assistance programs than were doing so before the crisis.
Comptroller DiNapoli is urging Congress and the President to approve additional aid for state and local governments during the pandemic. Sharp declines in state tax revenues and increased spending on Medicaid and other human services programs are making such assistance urgently necessary.
Statewide Medicaid enrollment rose by more than 260,000 or 4.3 percent from February through May, according to State Department of Health data. In Nassau, Suffolk and Putnam counties, increases were over 6 percent, while Westchester, Queens, Dutchess, Ulster and Rockland counties saw jumps of more than 5 percent. See figures for all counties in New York below.
- Medicaid Recipients in New York State by County
-
County Recipients, May 2020 Increase, February to May 2020 % Increase, February to May 2020 Albany 65,986 2,886 4.6% Allegany 12,637 357 2.9% Broome 53,899 2,005 3.9% Cattaraugus 22,065 654 3.1% Cayuga 20,158 793 4.1% Chautauqua 38,973 1,480 3.9% Chemung 25,984 862 3.4% Chenango 14,292 446 3.2% Clinton 20,256 766 3.9% Columbia 14,745 673 4.8% Cortland 12,007 400 3.4% Delaware 10,600 504 5.0% Dutchess 59,503 3,078 5.5% Erie 244,781 10,716 4.6% Essex 8,500 377 4.6% Franklin 14,711 453 3.2% Fulton 15,117 519 3.6% Genesee 13,037 532 4.3% Greene 12,575 510 4.2% Hamilton 749 34 4.8% Herkimer 16,526 746 4.7% Jefferson 29,276 1,117 4.0% Lewis 5,358 224 4.4% Livingston 12,162 381 3.2% Madison 16,342 696 4.4% Monroe 203,182 8,399 4.3% Montgomery 18,520 639 3.6% Nassau 267,247 16,275 6.5% Niagara 54,753 2,515 4.8% Oneida 73,103 2,761 3.9% Onondaga 120,518 4,645 4.0% Ontario 22,810 1,149 5.3% Orange 108,625 5,307 5.1% Orleans 10,992 309 2.9% Oswego 33,451 1,057 3.3% Otsego 12,906 532 4.3% Putnam 14,404 897 6.6% Rensselaer 35,370 1,439 4.2% Rockland 119,364 5,773 5.1% Saint Lawrence 28,879 808 2.9% Saratoga 34,640 1,922 5.9% Schenectady 46,357 2,204 5.0% Schoharie 7,049 238 3.5% Schuyler 3,924 224 6.1% Seneca 8,056 211 2.7% Steuben 25,232 870 3.6% Suffolk 325,160 18,959 6.2% Sullivan 26,914 1,154 4.5% Tioga 11,842 614 5.5% Tompkins 16,566 931 6.0% Ulster 46,165 2,379 5.4% Warren 15,373 631 4.3% Washington 16,861 702 4.3% Wayne 21,699 884 4.2% Westchester 215,464 11,756 5.8% Wyoming 8,703 291 3.5% Yates 5,095 144 2.9% New York City 3,541,227 155,402 4.6% Bronx 831,133 34,489 4.3% Kings 1,176,672 47,527 4.2% New York 437,693 16,784 4.0% Queens 949,621 49,469 5.5% Richmond 146,107 7,132 5.1% NEW YORK STATE 6,260,687 283,227 4.7% New York State total excludes 60,559 recipients not assigned to a specific county.
Source: New York State Department of Health
More than 2.7 million New Yorkers received SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) in May, up by 188,805 or 7.4 percent since February, according to data from the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. At the county level, Suffolk had the highest percentage increase at 16.2 percent, followed by Putnam (14.8 percent), Albany (11.4 percent) and Rockland (11.3 percent) counties. New York City SNAP beneficiaries totaled 1.6 million in May, up by 8.2 percent or 120,762 since February. See figures for counties in New York below.
- SNAP Recipients in New York State by County
-
County Recipients, May 2020 Change, February to May 2020 % Change, February to May 2020 Albany 34,859 3,569 11.4% Allegany 5,045 20 0.4% Broome 27,469 552 2.1% Cattaraugus 10,920 526 5.1% Cayuga 9,617 650 7.2% Chautauqua 24,459 710 3.0% Chemung 13,849 930 7.2% Chenango 6,043 187 3.2% Clinton 10,755 548 5.4% Columbia 5,887 593 11.2% Cortland 5,857 379 6.9% Delaware 4,602 396 9.4% Dutchess 19,176 1,610 9.2% Erie 147,191 8,039 5.8% Essex 3,354 255 8.2% Franklin 6,765 118 1.8% Fulton 7,104 127 1.8% Genesee 4,832 153 3.3% Greene 4,703 380 8.8% Hamilton 278 (3) -1.1% Herkimer 8,643 246 2.9% Jefferson 14,874 249 1.7% Lewis 2,802 28 1.0% Livingston 5,970 290 5.1% Madison 6,537 214 3.4% Monroe 115,176 3,010 2.7% Montgomery 7,830 (1) 0.0% Nassau 44,089 2,940 7.1% New York City 1,602,019 120,762 8.2% Niagara 27,053 470 1.8% Oneida 39,024 2,208 6.0% Onondaga 68,681 4,184 6.5% Ontario 8,547 226 2.7% Orange 38,438 415 1.1% Orleans 5,418 292 5.7% Oswego 18,110 339 1.9% Otsego 5,274 13 0.2% Putnam 2,419 311 14.8% Rensselaer 14,610 655 4.7% Rockland 45,180 4,592 11.3% St. Lawrence 13,714 414 3.1% Saratoga 14,133 1,408 11.1% Schenectady 22,167 2,067 10.3% Schoharie 3,627 121 3.5% Schuyler 2,241 129 6.1% Seneca 3,292 176 5.6% Steuben 10,433 643 6.6% Suffolk 101,963 14,235 16.2% Sullivan 13,158 620 4.9% Tioga 4,931 130 2.7% Tompkins 7,489 357 5.0% Ulster 17,258 1,137 7.1% Warren 6,634 240 3.8% Washington 6,416 257 4.2% Wayne 8,376 231 2.8% Westchester 75,102 5,499 7.9% Wyoming 2,350 (25) -1.1% Yates 2,160 (16) -0.7% NEW YORK STATE 2,748,903 188,805 7.4% SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Source: New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
New York State’s primary cash assistance programs, together known as Temporary Assistance (TA), served 497,420 individuals in May, up by 8.3 percent from February. The statewide increase was driven primarily by a jump of 39,191 recipients or 12.3 percent in New York City. Dutchess and Suffolk counties were among those with more modest increases, while roughly half the State’s counties experienced small declines. See figures for all counties and New York City below.
- Temporary Assistance Recipients in New York State by County
-
County Recipients, May 2020 Change, February to May 2020 % Change, February to May 2020 Albany 3,671 (241) -6.2% Allegany 506 (30) -5.6% Broome 4,746 (3) -0.1% Cattaraugus 1,267 27 2.2% Cayuga 1,224 53 4.5% Chautauqua 3,671 (1) 0.0% Chemung 1,180 43 3.8% Chenango 457 (2) -0.4% Clinton 1,087 (4) -0.4% Columbia 673 (27) -3.9% Cortland 750 (13) -1.7% Delaware 284 16 6.0% Dutchess 2,027 296 17.1% Erie 21,557 (365) -1.7% Essex 142 (16) -10.1% Franklin 748 2 0.3% Fulton 356 3 0.8% Genesee 410 14 3.5% Greene 394 (77) -16.3% Hamilton 16 4 33.3% Herkimer 749 (18) -2.3% Jefferson 1,866 (10) -0.5% Lewis 153 5 3.4% Livingston 794 (49) -5.8% Madison 500 (7) -1.4% Monroe 16,910 (394) -2.3% Montgomery 814 (114) -12.3% Nassau 6,662 24 0.4% New York City 356,601 39,191 12.3% Niagara 3,343 (103) -3.0% Oneida 6,147 14 0.2% Onondaga 11,752 (494) -4.0% Ontario 1,169 (62) -5.0% Orange 3,486 (195) -5.3% Orleans 937 (29) -3.0% Oswego 2,567 (17) -0.7% Otsego 371 30 8.8% Putnam 99 (9) -8.3% Rensselaer 2,361 (78) -3.2% Rockland 1,605 142 9.7% St. Lawrence 1,534 (72) -4.5% Saratoga 579 8 1.4% Schenectady 2,673 (92) -3.3% Schoharie 192 (9) -4.5% Schuyler 208 (46) -18.1% Seneca 326 (4) -1.2% Steuben 1,401 64 4.8% Suffolk 11,507 415 3.7% Sullivan 1,132 134 13.4% Tioga 547 33 6.4% Tompkins 1,119 62 5.9% Ulster 1,580 (26) -1.6% Warren 360 5 1.4% Washington 581 (1) -0.2% Wayne 839 11 1.3% Westchester 8,330 174 2.1% Wyoming 223 (5) -2.2% Yates 237 (22) -8.5% NEW YORK STATE 497,420 38,135 8.3% Source: New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
New York State’s Budget
State personal income tax receipts in July were more than $1 billion below the $11.8 billion projected in the Enacted Budget Financial Plan, according to preliminary data from the Department of Taxation and Finance. The Office of the State Comptroller will publish updated figures on cash receipts and disbursements later this month.
The State’s Lottery and other gaming receipts fell by $486.6 million, more than half, during April-June of this year compared to the same period in 2019. Lottery receipts were down $209.8 million, nearly a third, but $47.9 million above the most recent projections by the Division of the Budget. Due to facility closures in response to the pandemic, video lottery terminal (VLT) receipts were less than $1 million, compared to $228.3 million a year earlier, while casino revenue in April through June fell from $49.1 million in 2019 to zero this year. In recent weeks, commercial casinos and VLT facilities have filed notices with the State Department of Labor reporting a total of 6,996 layoffs due to business conditions resulting from the pandemic.
The State has received $370 million in monetary settlements since May, in addition to the $80 million included in the Enacted Budget Financial Plan released by the Division of the Budget in April. The most recent settlement, $150 million from Deutsche Bank, was received on July 16.
The State’s General Fund balance was $14.4 billion as of July 31, bolstered by unusually high July tax receipts due to the change in this year’s tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15. While the fund balance appears to indicate a strong cash position, it reflects factors including $4.5 billion in short-term borrowing to be repaid later in the fiscal year, as well as the withholding of significant amounts of payments from local governments and other entities. In addition, the CARES Act Fund, which is outside the General Fund, held a balance of more than $4 billion as of July 31. Additional details are available in the July 22 edition of this update.