Employment

• Private sector jobs in New York City rose by 5,000 in June after an increase of 11,300 in May.
• In the same period, government jobs in the City fell by 1,000, resulting in a net increase of 4,000 total private and public sector jobs.
• Since June 2011, private sector employment has risen by 80,000 jobs or 2.5 percent.
• The City’s unemployment rate rose to 10.0 percent in June from 9.7 percent in May.
• Between May and June, the number of employed City residents fell by 1,300 and the number of unemployed City residents rose by 14,100.

 

Industries Driving Employment and Establishment Growth in New York City

• The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) provides information about number of establishments, total employment, and wages by industry. The New York State Department of Labor recently released QCEW data for 2011.
• Historically, from 2000 to 2010, private establishments grew in New York City by 12.2 percent while employment levels remained roughly steady over the period. This decline in average number of employees per establishment over the decade could point to a growing share of small businesses in NYC.
• We initially examined private sector industries at the 2- and 3-digit NAICS level.¹ Sectors experiencing rapid establishment growth between 2000 and 2010 were Banking (57 percent), Management of Companies and Enterprises (44 percent), and Educational Services (39 percent). Educational Services was also one of the largest gainers in terms of employment over the period (34 percent), as well as Accommodation and Food Services (28 percent).
• From 2010 to 2011, overall NYC private sector establishments grew by 2.5 percent and employment by 2.8 percent. A number of industries outperformed these overall rates. Banking, for instance, rebounded from the recession with employment rising by 5.0 percent.
• Most impressive of all from 2010 to 2011 was Accommodation and Food Services, which posted the strongest growth of any sector in terms of both establishments and employment. Establishments in the industry increased by 6.8 percent over the period, while employment rose 7.7 percent.
• The surge in Accommodation and Food Services is related to the rise of tourism in New York City. In 2011, an all-time high of 50.9 million visitors came to New York City, a 4.3 percent increase from 2010 and 40.6 percent higher than 2000, according to data from NYC & Company. Tourism-heavy industries such as restaurants, air transportation and traveler accommodation were among the industries displaying strongest employment growth from 2010 to 2011.
• We also looked more closely at employment growth from 2010 to 2011 at the detailed 4-digit NAICS level. Initiatives to increase production of movies and television in NYC, like the Made in NY Incentive Program through the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, appear to have been successful in generating employment. From 2000 to 2010, the motion picture and video industry declined by an average of 1.1 percent per year, while radio and television employment shrunk by 0.8 percent per year. However, both industries grew from 2010 to 2011 faster than the overall private sector, with motion pictures growing jobs by a significant 15.6 percent, which was surpassed only by department stores.²
• Tech-related sectors also showed above-average employment growth, reflecting the growth of Silicon Alley. Computer systems design and related services posted the third-fastest rate of employment growth year-to-year with 10.3 percent, despite establishments only growing 1.1 percent, indicating that existing companies in this industry have been expanding their workforces. Other information services (including news syndicates, internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals) also showed healthy growth, with establishments rising by 5.8 percent and employment by 7.5 percent.

¹ The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a business and government standard coding of establishments based on type of economic activity.

² This analysis included only those sectors that accounted for at least 0.5 percent of total private employment in New York City in 2011.

Real Estate and Construction

Manhattan Office Market

• In July 2012, both the Manhattan Class A direct vacancy rate and average rental rate remained stable at 8.1 percent and $69 PSF, respectively.
• In the same month, the Downtown Class A direct vacancy rate rose to 7.5 percent and the rental rate remained at $46 PSF.
• The Manhattan Class A sublease vacancy rate rose from 1.9 percent in June to 2.0 percent in July.

Construction

For the twelve months ending June 2012:

• Building projects (including new, additions and alterations) that started construction in NYC increased by 0.7 percent and infrastructure (non-building) project starts decreased by 4.3 percent from the same period in 2011.
• Planned space for building project starts fell by 2.0 percent from the same period in 2011.
• 2,450 residential building projects with 12,215 units of housing started construction, which represent increases of 1.6 percent and 36.2 percent, respectively, over the period.

Source: McGraw Hill Construction

Tourism, Travel and Transit

Transit Ridership

• Total ridership on MTA subways, trains and buses in June 2012 was 222.4 million, a decrease of 0.1 percent from June 2011.
• Subway ridership in June 2012 was 141.9 million, an increase of 0.9 percent from June 2011.

Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Air Traffic

• In May 2012, 9.5 million passengers flew into and out of the region's airports, an increase of 1.1 percent from May 2011.
• Domestic air carriers accounted for 6.3 million passengers, a 1.6 percent increase from May 2011.
• 3.2 million passengers traveled with international air carriers in May 2012, a 0.1 percent increase from May 2011.

Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Broadway Ticket Sales

• Total Broadway attendance was approximately 950,000 during the four weeks ending July 29, 2012, up 4.2 percent from the same period last year.
• Broadway revenue during this period was about $93.1 million, up 9.7 percent from last year.
• Note: Gross revenue and attendance figures may not include all shows

Source: The Broadway League

Hotel Occupancy

• In June 2012, the average daily hotel room rate was $289, a 3.3 percent increase from June 2011.
• Hotel occupancy was 91.1 percent in June 2012, up from 88.3 percent in June 2011.
• The average daily hotel room rate increased the most in lower-priced hotels (charging between $200 and $250 per night).

Source: PKF Consulting