NYS Department of Labor unemployment data for ages 16-19 - where to find statistics from April 2019 to April 2020?
I'm trying to research unemployment statistics for teenagers (ages 16-19) in New York State, specifically comparing April 2019 to April 2020. I need this data for a college economics project about how unemployment grew during the early pandemic period for different age groups. Does anyone know where I can find official NYS Department of Labor statistics that break down unemployment rates by age? I've been searching their website but can't seem to locate historical data that goes into that level of detail for specific months and age brackets.
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Aisha Rahman
The NYS Department of Labor publishes monthly labor statistics reports, but the detailed age breakdowns are usually in their annual reports or special studies. For April 2020 specifically, you'll want to look at their COVID-19 impact reports since that month saw massive unemployment spikes across all demographics.
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Mateo Perez
•Thanks! Do you know if those COVID impact reports are still available on their site? I couldn't find anything that specific when I searched.
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CosmicCrusader
Try the Bureau of Labor Statistics website - they have detailed breakdowns by state and age group. NYS Department of Labor data feeds into their national databases, so you might find more granular data there than on the state site directly.
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Ethan Brown
•This is good advice. BLS has really detailed monthly data going back years. Just make sure you're filtering for New York specifically since the national numbers won't help for a state-focused project.
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Yuki Yamamoto
i remember reading somewhere that teen unemployment EXPLODED in april 2020 because so many retail and food service jobs disappeared overnight. Like it went from maybe 15% to over 30% but dont quote me on those exact numbers
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Mateo Perez
•That sounds about right from what I've read generally. The restaurant and retail closures definitely hit younger workers the hardest since they're overrepresented in those industries.
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Carmen Ortiz
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor for specific data requests, you might want to try claimyr.com - they have a service that helps people actually reach live agents at unemployment offices. Sometimes the research departments can point you to data that's not easily found online. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Mateo Perez
•Interesting, I hadn't thought about calling them directly. Do you think they'd actually have someone who could help with historical statistics requests?
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Carmen Ortiz
•It's worth a shot! I used it when I couldn't get answers about my claim status, and they connected me pretty quickly. The research folks might be more accessible than you'd think.
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Andre Rousseau
Just a heads up - when you do find the data, make sure you understand how they calculate unemployment rates for teens. It's different from adult rates because of school enrollment status and part-time vs full-time work availability.
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