Reports

Six months into the COVID-19 recession, New Yorkers working in lower-paid sectors continue to suffer a disproportionate share of job losses statewide and especially in New York City.

This report on the use of overtime by New York State agencies examines patterns over the past ten calendar years. The total cost of overtime in calendar year 2019 was over $806 million, covering roughly 18.4 million overtime hours worked.

The 2019-20 fiscal year brought the convergence of two dramatically different periods to New York State. The nation’s longest recorded economic expansion continued to generate overall job growth through most of the fiscal year before finally ending in February, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced severe limits on business activity and significantly impacted the State’s economy.

This snapshot highlights the results for counties, cities, towns and villages that reported for local fiscal years ending (FYE) 2019. These scores, therefore, provide a baseline for local government fiscal preparedness in the period just prior to the pandemic.

While New York State has regained more than one in four of the jobs it lost in March and April, the unprecedented scale of losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaves a daunting path ahead for the State to climb back to pre-recession employment levels. For New York City, the picture is even more troubling.

Local government sales tax revenue declined by 7.8 percent, or $111 million, in August compared to the same month last year. 

Regional Table [.xlsx]

In March and April 2020, Congress passed four stimulus bills to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the public health system and the economy. As Congress debates additional relief measures, it is worth reviewing the targeting of the initial funding in order to inform new policy to counter the virus and its economic effects.

Even as we grapple with the serious public health and economic challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change continues to represent an urgent and growing threat. 

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of New York for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020.

The New York State Legislature amended the State Finance Law in 2015 by adding a new Section 8-c, which provides for the establishment of a statewide electronic system to help detect and prevent fraud, waste and abuse in government spending and to help avoid improper payment of public moneys.

New York State’s total employment count hit an all-time high of more than 9.8 million in February, reflecting net gains of nearly 2 million jobs since April 1996. 

Sales tax collections for local governments in July totaled $1.3 billion, or $116 million less than in July 2019.

Regional Table [.xlsx]

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.

The economic, social and budgetary fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City has been unprecedented, while the loss of life has been unimaginable. Restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the disease triggered a national recession. In New York City, job losses in March and April were the largest since the Great Depression.

Sales tax revenue for local governments in the second quarter of 2020 totaled $3.3 billion, a decline of $1.2 billion compared to the same period last year. 

Regional Table [.xlsx]

Approved payments to New York recipients for Unemployment Insurance totaled $32.1 billion from March 1 through July 17, with steep increases in payments following the onset of the pandemic.

Guarding against the investment risks presented by climate change while preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy is central to Comptroller DiNapoli’s work as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest public pension funds in the country.

The report summarizes most recently completed data (fiscal year ending 2018) found in these annual reports. In addition to reviewing IDA data, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) provides training to IDA officials on various topics, including recent legislative reforms and how to improve their compliance with reporting requirements. 

Interactive Map

As was widely reported, New York’s unemployment rate has soared upward in recent months, with May's 14.5 percent nearly four times the 3.7 percent in February. But that rate is only one measure of the impact of lost jobs.

Our State’s local governments are being tested on many fronts as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This report will examine some of the major risks to these revenue sources, the dependence of local governments on each, and the effects of federal government actions to help keep local governments afloat thus far.