Question 1: Which industries in New York State are experiencing the highest levels of job growth, and which industries are declining?
Industry Growth Overview: Sector Patterns
The bar chart highlights the ten industries in New York State that are projected to experience the strongest employment growth. Much of this growth is concentrated in transportation, logistics, information services, and health related support industries. Sectors such as Other Information Services, Postal Service, Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, and Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing show especially high percent increases. These industries benefit from rising reliance on digital services, online platforms, and expanded data networks, which creates new job pathways for workers with technical or analytical skills.
Interpretation of Chart Trends: What the Growth Suggests
Many of the fastest growing industries are service oriented fields, including Rental and Leasing Services, Warehousing and Storage, and Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation. Their strong growth reflects increased mobility needs, expanded e commerce activity, and recovery in travel and recreation across the state. The wide range of industries with high percent change suggests that job expansion is not limited to one field but reflects a broader shift toward technology supported services and transportation networks. Graduates entering fields related to logistics, information systems, health services, or technical operations will likely find strong opportunities as these high growth sectors continue to expand.
Question 2: How do unemployment patterns differ by education level, gender, and race?
Time Series Plot: The four plots examines how unemployment patterns differ across demographic groups from January 2015 through December 2024. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we investigate disparities by education level, race, gender, and age. For education level specifically, this includes individuals ages 16-24, some of whom may still be enrolled in school. While this may slightly inflate unemployment rates for those with less education (as some 16-19 year olds have not yet completed high school), it provides a comprehensive view of labor market outcomes across the full working-age population and enables direct comparison with race, gender, and age unemployment patterns.
Heat Map: The heat map shows how race and gender intersect to create different unemployment outcomes. Using the natural unemployment rate (5%) as the midpoint, the heat map suggests racial disparities within the female workforce. White women consistently maintain unemployment rates at or below the natural rate (green shading), indicating healthy labor market conditions. In contrast, Black and Hispanic women experience unemployment rates consistently above the natural rate throughout the entire decade (orange-red shading), with Black women facing rates 1.5-2x higher than the economic benchmark.
Question 3: What skills, degrees, or certifications are most in demand among employers in growing industries?
This section highlights the technology skills most frequently required across high-growth occupations. Using O*NET data, we identify which technical tools, programming languages, and software platforms appear most often in these roles.
The bubble chart to the left shows the percentage of occupations that require each skill, allowing us to see which capabilities employers consistently prioritize in expanding areas of the job market.
This visualization uses skill frequency data from O*NET Online, focusing on technology skills that appear most often across growing occupations.
Question 4: Which regions in New York provide the strongest job markets for recent graduates, and how do these areas compare to smaller cities?
This analysis examines job market conditions across five major New York regions. These regions collectively account for 470 thousand job openings, with an average unemployment rate of 3.58%.
Major City Advantage: NYC leads with 300,000 job openings and 89.1% graduate employment rate, significantly outpacing smaller cities in absolute opportunities.
Smaller Cities Performance: Mid-size cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Albany) show lower unemployment rates (3.1-3.5%) compared to NYC (4.9%), with 40-55K openings each.
Trade-offs: Rochester and Syracuse both have the lowest unemployment rate (3.1%), though Syracuse offers only 25,000 job openings. Recent graduates may find lower competition in smaller cities but fewer total opportunities.
| Region | City Size | Unemployment Rate (%) | Job Openings (K) | Grad Employment (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC | Major | 4.9 | 300 | 89.1 |
| Buffalo | Mid-size | 3.3 | 50 | 75.0 |
| Rochester | Mid-size | 3.1 | 55 | 78.0 |
| Syracuse | Small | 3.1 | 25 | 70.0 |
| Albany | Mid-size | 3.5 | 40 | 76.0 |
- JLL’s 2025 Talent Hubs Report
- NYS Department of Labor - Unemployment Statistics
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Job Openings Data
This dashboard was created using Quarto in RStudio, and the R Language and Environment.
The dataset used to create this dashboard was downloaded from - O*NET Online - NYS Department of Labor - Long Term Industry Projections - Federal Reserve Economic Data - Bureau of Labor Statistics - JLL’s 2025 Talent Hubs Report - NYS Department of Labor - Unemployment Statistics
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