Jobless in New York
Defining the highest concentrations of unemployment in New York and possible motives for these trends
The vibrancy of a society can usually be measured by their unemployment rate. Labor statistics tend to be a sound barometer on the overall health of a region and are closely tied to social, political, and economic conditions. These figures are usually marked by national and regional events that can shape and manipulate these numbers based on how impactful they were to a society as a whole. For instance, in the wake of a major terrorist attack or stock market collapse, unemployment numbers tend to soar. Uncertainty is a major driving force in the labor realm and sends aftershocks across the nation. Notwithstanding these anomalous incidents, there are certain areas that are just prone to high unemployment regardless of national and local tragedies. Sure, their numbers rightfully change in the wake of these events as well, but overall, they remain relatively high as a matter of normality.
In the accompanying graphic, labor force figures for the State of New York are depicted for the years 2000, 2008 and 2016. The statistics are broken down by county across the state and are color-coded to denote higher and lower concentrations of unemployment. A quick mouse scan over a county on the map will yield the percentage of unemployment along with that county’s Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code.
Primarily, the first observation that can be made from the graphics is that each county maintains a relatively stable and consistent unemployment rate. There are no major deviations in each county, during each measured year, where extreme highs or lows are detectable from the prior dataset. Each county maintains a steady percentage. The other notable trend is that most counties experienced a spike in unemployment during the 2008 figures when compared to the 2000 figures. The year 2008 hosted the major stock market collapse in conjunction with sub-prime lending and caused reverberations throughout all facets of the national economy.
However, despite all of this, two counties remained consistently high in the unemployment metric across all three measured years: Saint Lawrence County and the Bronx. Both counties had the unfortunate distinction of weighing in toward the zenith of the data spectrum. Why do these two counties host consistently high unemployment ratings in juxtaposition to the remainder of the state? Is education a factor? Does family structure play a role? Do local government policies play a role? Unfortunately, these maps cannot answer these questions, but their data illustrates the need for more research on the topic. Graphics like these are imperative in understanding the conditions on the ground but tend to yield more gaps about the why. They are a great starting part in a quest for more comprehensive information on complex issues like unemployment rates and point consumers in the right direction for satisfying greater inquiries into the complexities of the world around them.
