State Reaches All-Time Jobs High

Newly revised data from the federal government show that New York’s economic expansion continued in 2017.

Last year, the state’s annual private sector job count reached 8,067,400, an all-time high, and the state’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent, its lowest level in a decade. Last year, also marked the state’s eighth consecutive year of job growth. Since 2009, the state’s economy has added more than one million private sector jobs on an annual basis.

Since the beginning of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the state’s economy has added 1,025,400 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 74 of the past 85 months. In January, New York’s statewide unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent and the state’s private sector job count fell by 4,400.

Chautauqua County’s nonfarm job county decreased by 400 between January 2017 and this year, going from 49,500 to 49,100, which was a .8 percent decrease.

The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more data become available the following month. The federal government calculates New York state’s unemployment rate based partly upon the results of the current population survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in the state each month.

“New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the New York state economy continued to grow last year,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, state Labor Department Division of Research and Statistics director.

Truck-Lite Enters Crane Agreement

FALCONER — Truck-Lite Co. LLC has entered an agreement with Crane Freight and Cartage to integrate the Road Ready telematics system into the fleet’s trailers. Launched in August 2017, the Road Ready system offers fleets a complete overview of a trailer’s environment, both inside and out, using a variety of customizable wireless sensors. Long-life batteries and a solar-powered master control unit allow a fleet to gather reports on untethered trailers, and the intuitive and dynamic user interface can be accessed from any device with an internet connection and displays trailer locations and conditions in real time. Crane started transitioning its 900 trailers to the Road Ready system in November 2017 and will complete the process in the first quarter of 2018.

Obama, Netflix Discussing Show

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix shares surged to an all-time high following the news that Barack Obama and Netflix reportedly are negotiating a deal for the former president and his wife, Michelle, to produce shows exclusively for the streaming service.

The proposed deal was reported Friday by The New York Times, which cited people familiar with the discussions who were not identified.

The report sent shares to an all-time high of $326.74 earlier. The Los Gatos, California, company’s stock reached $326.07 in afternoon trading, marking a gain of nearly 3 percent.

Netflix did not respond for a request for comment. Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill declined comment on the report.

Obama senior adviser Eric Schultz, in a statement provided to The Associated Press, said the Obamas believe in the power of storytelling to inspire.

Schultz said the couple continues to explore new ways to help others share their stories.

The New York Times reported that Obama doesn’t intend to use his Netflix shows to respond directly to President Donald Trump or conservative critics.