New York hopes requiring work searches lowers unemployment

As New York continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the key concerns moving forward is improving the state’s high unemployment rate. Some are hopeful enforcement of the work search requirement will help drive that number down.

With an 8.2% unemployment rate in April, New York is tied with New Mexico with the third-highest rate in the country and more than two percentage points higher than the national average of 6.1 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 778,389 people unemployed ranks second only to California’s nearly 1.6 million workers out of a job.