NY Ranks #32 for Residents' Financial Security: New Report

Even though the national unemployment rate has dropped to 5 percent in recent months, the unemployment and underemployment rates remain stubbornly high, according to a new report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

The report ranks New York 32nd overall in financial security of residents.

But it’s not for lack of trying.

The Scorecard also evaluates 69 different policy measures to determine how well states are addressing the challenges facing their residents, and New York ranks fourth overall there, with 36 of those policies adopted.

Published annually, the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard offers the most comprehensive look available at Americans’ ability to save and build wealth, stay out of poverty and create a more prosperous future. This year’s Scorecard assesses all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 61 outcome measures spanning five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing & Homeownership, Health Care and Education. It also ranks the states on 69 policies that promote financial security. When it comes to outcomes, Vermont ranks at the top of the country overall, while Mississippi ranks last.

New York received a “B” rating in Businesses & Jobs, measuring residents’ access to quality job and business opportunities.

Look for local employment opportunities in the Jobs section on Bronxville-Eastchester Patch.

However, the state received an “F” in Housing & Homeownership due to its high housing cost burdens for renters and owners and its high foreclosure rate (5.3 percent, compared to a national rate of 2.1 percent).

“There certainly are positive signs that the nation’s economy is improving,” noted Andrea Levere, President of CFED. “But there also is very compelling evidence that many households are stuck in a financial hole and are struggling to dig themselves out.”

Among the key national findings from this year’s Scorecard:

• While the national unemployment rate has dropped to 5 percent, the underemployment rate is twice as high, at 10.8 percent.
• One in four jobs is in a low-wage occupation.
• Building up even a small amount of savings is a challenge for almost half the country. Some 44 percent of households are “liquid asset poor,” meaning they have less than three months of savings to live at the poverty level if they suffer an income loss.
• Business ownership among both men and women (21.4 percent and 17.1 percent of the labor force, respectively) declined from 2007 to 2012, even as average business value for both groups increased. Female-owned businesses are worth a third the value of the average male-owned business — $239,486 to $726,141, respectively.

To see New York’s report card, click here. Learn more about the Scorecard’s methodology and analysis here.