Long Island compared to its neighbors

By most indicators, Long Island was showing a positive trajectory in 2019.

But how do we compare with our neighbors and what lessons could we learn from the numbers?

To begin with, while LI’s average annual wage may have increased by 4% since 2017, we lag behind Manhattan, Westchester or even the average United States wage.

And when we compare LI’s employment rate, we lag behind our neighbors as well. NYC’s employment rate grew by 4% from 2017 to 2019, while LI grew by .4% in this same period.

Hudson Valley includes Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Kingston, Orange and Dutchess counties.

Meanwhile, LI’s unemployment rate from 2017 to 2019 was consistently lower than NYC’s in the same time frame.

This was LI’s economic status prior to the pandemic. Newly-released New York State Labor Department figures show that LI ended 2020 with fewer jobs in December than it had the previous December. Next week we will analyze LI’s 2020 struggle in more detail.