Daily Briefing – 133
New York’s COVID-19 Hospitalizations Drop to Lowest Number Since March 18
Governor Cuomo announced yesterday that New York State’s COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped to 518—the lowest number since March 18. Yesterday’s infection rate of 0.74 percent marked the 13th straight day with an infection rate below 1 percent. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs dropped to 120, matching the state’s previous low since March 16. The governor also updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.
Executive Order Extends Moratorium on COVID-Related Commercial Evictions Until September 20
The yesterday signed an executive order extending the state’s moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures an additional month, until September 20th. This measure extends protections already in place for commercial tenants and mortgagors in recognition of the financial toll the pandemic has taken on business owners, including retail establishments and restaurants. The extension of this protection is intended to give commercial tenants and mortgagors additional time to get back on their feet and catch up on rent or renegotiate their leasing terms and avoid eviction proceedings and foreclosures.
Comptroller DiNapoli: NY’s Economy & Finances in the COVID-19 Era
New York State’s total employment count hit an all-time high of more than 9.8 million in February, reflecting net gains of nearly 2 million jobs since April 1996. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a body blow to the State’s economy, with combined losses in March and April wiping out 24 years of job growth. The April decline of more than 1.9 million represented the State’s largest monthly loss of jobs on record.
Personal income tax (PIT) collections, by far the State’s largest source of tax revenues, totaled $18.9 billion through July. As with overall tax receipts, PIT collections through the first four months were not far from DOB’s April projections, approximately $135 million or 0.7 percent above the April figure. July sales and use tax collections of $1.1 billion were 8.5 percent below those of a year earlier, the lowest year-over-year decline in such receipts since noticeable impacts on tax receipts from the pandemic first appeared in March.
Read more at the Controllers website
Private Sector Job Count in the Hudson Valley Fell 13.9 Percent In 12 Months Ending July 31
For the 12-month period ending July 2020, private sector job count in the Hudson Valley fell by 114,500, or 13.9 percent, to 711,800. Losses were greatest in leisure and hospitality (-45,900), trade, transportation and utilities (-18,200), professional and business services (-15,500), educational and health services (-10,600), other services (-10,300), natural resources, mining and construction (-6,700), manufacturing (-4,700), and financial activities (-2,000).
The July 2020 over-the-year job losses continues to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. At 711,800, private sector job count has reached its lowest July level since 1998.
| Category | Jul 2020 |
Jun 2020 |
Jul 2019 |
Net Month |
% Month |
Net Year |
% Year |
| Total Nonfarm | 848,600 | 839,000 | 983,300 | 9,600 | 1.1% | -134,700 | -13.7% |
| Goods-producing | 93,000 | 92,000 | 104,400 | 1,000 | 1.1% | -11,400 | -10.9% |
| Manufacturing | 39,100 | 39,100 | 43,800 | 0 | 0.0% | -4,700 | -10.7% |
Labor Market Profile – JUL 2020
Senate Republicans Introduce “Skinny” Relief Package, Includes Liability Protections
In response to recent events involving the U.S. Postal Service as well as stalled negotiations between the White House and top Democratic leaders, Senate GOP leaders will introduce a new “skinny” COVID-19 relief package addressing a range of issues in the coming days. The new package will include several top priorities for manufacturers, including the SAFE TO WORK Act, which is an opening bid for a liability protections framework. The bill will also include a weekly federal unemployment benefit at a lower level than Democratic leaders had proposed, and $10 billion in funding for the beleaguered postal service.
Laptops, Home Electronics Sales Still Soaring
Manufacturers are racing to keep up with the demand for laptops and other home electronics as the school year gets underway, with many students across the nation attending classes from home. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and this level of demand over and over again every single week … is just amazing,” says consumer electronics analyst Stephen Baker, noting that sales are now at levels typically seen only during the holiday season.
Read the full story at The New York Times (subscription)
Reimagining Supply Chain Resilience
New research from the McKinsey Global Institute looks at risk and resilience across 23 industry value chains and dozens of supply-chain executives, and shows a company could lose a year’s profit due to a significant supply-chain disruption. Based on those results and the probability of actual occurrences, companies can expect disruptions to erase an average 44 percent of one year’s profits over the course of a decade. Yet fifty-four percent of executives said they don’t have clear visibility into their supply chains beyond Tier 1. With the COVID-19 pandemic fresh in their minds, an overwhelming 93 percent reported in May that they plan to take steps to make their supply chains more resilient.
