Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics census data released December 20, found that New York experienced the steepest annual population decline in the country from July 2020 to July 2021, losing more than 1.5 percent of its people during that 12-month period. The news raised concerns among business organizations who have been anxious about the stagnant population growth in parts of the state during the last several decades. The state's population decreased by 319,020 people in a 12-month period coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. New York in the last year also recorded a net loss of 352,185 of its population due to domestic migration, the Census reported. The state's nation-leading decline was greater than the decreases in population seen in Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio, combined. Texas saw the largest increase in population, growing by 1.1 percent or 310,288 people. New York has seen an extended period of population loss, especially in upstate counties, over the last several generations. Business organizations usually blame the trend on the high tax climate in recent years relative to other parts of the country. The state is set to lose a congressional seat next year in the House of Representatives because its population over the last decade failed to increase as fast as the rest of the country. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.