State revision: LI jobs expanded in 2011

The Long Island economy had 17,600 more jobs in January than a year earlier, state Labor Department data said Thursday, the biggest increase in the past 12 months.

Economists said the strong gains stem from overall economic improvement, including stronger retail sales from pent-up demand, and better weather than January 2011.

Moreover, the Labor Department Thursday issued extensive revisions to its 2011 employment data, showing that the Island wasn't mired in job losses for most of last year, as originally reported.

Instead, the revised data showed employment expanded in Nassau and Suffolk counties every month last year.

"I've never seen such radical revisions," said Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association. "We thought the economic recovery was extremely weak when, in effect, the revisions show that Long Island experienced a strong economic recovery."

In one of the most dramatic revisions, a decline of 6,800 jobs in June, as originally reported, was revised to a gain of 17,300 from the year-earlier period.

And for 2011 as a whole, Long Island, which in the original data seemed to be heading for a loss of jobs, wound up with an average of 11,100 more jobs for the year, compared with 2010.

The Labor Department always revises its monthly employment data, but such dramatic changes are uncommon.

The state Labor Department used a new system to estimate monthly employment numbers last year, said Shital Patel, the Hicksville-based labor market analyst for the department. She didn't elaborate except to say, "We are working with the [U.S.] Bureau of Labor Statistics to fix some of the issues."

Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales said the revised employment data for last year are more accurate than the prior numbers because all of the state's 500,000 employers are surveyed for the revision, as opposed to samples of 15,000 for monthly surveys. "These are accurate numbers," he said.

When asked whether, given the sharp prior revisions, the new data for January are reliable, Rosales said, "They're the most reliable numbers we have at this time for the Long Island region. We stand behind the numbers."

One factor in the January employment gain, Patel said, was an economy on the mend. "We're just seeing more across-the-board strength than we had previously seen," she said.

Kamer said the latest data provide a much-needed dose of optimism.

"This report is a very optimistic one for Long Island, and it's been a long time coming," she said. "This really revises how we view the economic recovery on Long Island."

The professional and business-services sector posted the biggest gains in January -- 7,200 jobs -- driven by increased demand for accountants, lawyers, architects, engineers, technicians and others, Kamer said. Construction showed the biggest losses, 2,900.

The government sector had 2,700 fewer jobs than a year earlier. In contrast, the private sector had 20,300 more jobs, for an overall gain of 17,600. It was the largest January increase in private-sector jobs since 2000, the department said.

Kamer cautioned that the economy still remains fragile, with home prices still falling and foreclosures only temporarily slowed by banking paperwork snafus -- although rising numbers of homes in contract offer a glimmer of hope.