Exclusive | New Yorks stagnant, aging population is killing job growth: report

New York’s stagnant and aging population is killing business expansion — with residents age 65 and older now making up nearly 20% of the state, according to a sobering report from Gov.Kathy Hochul’s office.The “Labor Markets” section of Hochul’s mid-year budget plan revealed that there are not enough younger residents to replace Baby Boomers leaving the workforce, thanks to “constraints in population growth.“New York’s labor market faces many of the same constraints as the nation, where cautious business expansion and limited labor force growth restrain hiring,” the study found.

“Individuals age 65 and older now make up 19.3 percent of the State’s population, up from 15.0 percent a decade ago.“The growth of the State’s labor supply will be limited due to constraints in population growth and the aging workforce.“These trends will likely restrict employment growth, but unemployment rates should remain stable,” the report said.

“[The state Division of the Budget] projects New York’s unemployment rate to average 4.4 percent in each year from 2026 through 2028, slightly above the national average.”The analysts cited several factors negatively impacting or preventing a more dynamic local job market: the falloff in foreign immigration that historically compensated for New Yorkers exiting the state, and the high cost of living, particularly the lack of an adequate supply of affordable housing in the New York City region.“We can’t change the fact that New York is getting older, but we can change both whether a young family can afford to put down roots here and whether an employer chooses New York for its next hundred jobs,” said Steve Fulop, CEO of the Partnership for the City of New York, a group that represents the Big Apple’s largest employers.“It is all connected, and elected officials don’t always recognize it, but affordability for families and competitiveness for companies to grow in New York clearly belong in the sa...