New York State's economy is interdependent with the major U.S. automobile makers through New York State based auto- related jobs and billions of dollars of debt held by New York based financial institutions.

Over the past five years, the average cost of a college education has grown by over 30 percent, more than twice as fast as the inflation rate during this period.

The current recession has had a significant impact on New York State’s residents. Jobs have been lost in virtually all industries in New York State, and the unemployment rate reached 9 percent in December 2009—a rate last seen in April 1983.

Agriculture is important to New York State’s economy, and takes place in almost every region of the State.

The film and television production industry plays an important role in the economy of New York State, but states across the nation and certain Canadian provinces are aggressively competing for film and television jobs by offering tax incentives.

By any measure, New York’s economy depends heavily on small businesses. Using the definition established by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA)—any firm with fewer than 500 employees—small businesses account for more than half of all private sector jobs and the vast majority of the private sector firms in New York.

The United States is slowly recovering from the worst recession in decades, which was precipitated by high-risk lending practices.

Programs focused on children who are at risk of becoming delinquent have demonstrated effectiveness in preventing young people from ever entering the juvenile justice system.

The federal government has been operating under Continuing Resolutions since the start of the new federal fiscal year that began October 1, 2010. Despite ongoing efforts between the President and Congress to reach agreement on a federal budget, taxpayers face the threat of the first federal government shutdown since 1996.

The economic recovery took hold in New York in 2010, but it has been slow, and not all regions of the State have benefited equally.