You may have seen that NewYork State ranked s 7th in the US in employment growth and while that sounds all good and well, it doesn’t really tell the whole story. In fact, it’s a bit misleading – and could be considered a case of “figures don’t lie, but liars figure”.
The results are from a recent survey from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The numbers tell the total number of new jobs created in a state, not the percentage of new jobs created.
Let me explain further, if we’re just talking gross numbers New York (or, for that matter, California) will create many more jobs in numbers than say Vermont or North Dakota. However, the smaller states – ranked lower in these ratings -- are creating far more jobs than New York relative to their size.
In fact, if New York’s job growth was measured as a percent of our existing jobs, we’d rank in the bottom 25 percent of the states.
I say this not so much to be negative or a kill joy, but to point out the fact that our state must begin to become more business friendly and job friendly, before it’s too late. It’s the same as with our national fiscal policies – more on that in a future blog piece.
Back to the New York State economy, I must say I am impressed with the way Gov. Andrew Cuomo has performed to date. He deftly handled the state and health care employees unions to close the state budget deficit. But much more needs to be done.
New York must work to cut its property taxes and energy costs. But what it really needs is to become more business friendly on a variety of levels. Reducing business fees and regulations, workmen's comp, etc.
This is what we need to do to create real jobs, not just make it look like we created prosperity, when we didn’t exactly do it. That’s why I like the expression “Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Figure.”
I’d love to hear your comments.
Tags: business regulations, business taxes, Gov. Cuomo, jobs, NYS emplyoment, small business, tax reduction
