Employment

• Private sector jobs in New York City fell by 5,900 in October after a decline of 9,700 in September.
• In the same period, government jobs in the City rose by 2,800 resulting in a net decrease of 3,1500 total private and public sector jobs.
• Since October 2011, private sector employment has risen by 94,400 jobs, or 2.9 percent.
• The City’s unemployment rate fell from 9.5 percent in September 2012 to 9.3 percent in October.
• Between September and October, the number of employed City residents rose by 16,700, and the number of unemployed City residents fell by 9,600.

Real Estate and Construction

Manhattan Office Market

• In October 2012, the Manhattan Class A direct vacancy rate fell to 8.0 percent while the average rental rate remained at $69 PSF.
•  In the same month, the Midtown South Class A direct vacancy rate fell to 3.4 percent, and the rental rate fell to $68 PSF.
• The Manhattan Class A sublease vacancy rate remained at 2.2 percent between September and October.

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

Construction 

For the twelve months ending September 2012:

• Building projects (including new, additions and alterations) that started construction in NYC fell by 8.1 percent and infrastructure (non-building) project starts rose by 7.4 percent from the twelve months ending September 2011.
• Planned space for building project starts fell by 13.8 percent from the same period in 2011.
• 2,576 residential building projects with 10,610 units of housing started construction, decreases of 3.0 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively, from the twelve months ending in September 2011.

Source: McGraw Hill Construction

Travel, Tourism, and Transit

Transit Ridership

• Total ridership on MTA subways, trains and buses in August 2012 was 218.2 million, an increase of 8.5 percent from August 2011.
• Bus ridership in August 2012 was 54.0 million, an increase of 7.3 percent from August 2011.

Source:  Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Air Traffic

• In August 2012, 10.9 million passengers flew into and out of the region's airports, an increase of 10.2 percent from August 2011.
• Domestic air carriers accounted for 6.9 million passengers, a 9.7 percent increase from August 2011.
• 4.0 million passengers traveled with international air carriers in August 2012, an 11.1 percent increase from August 2011.

Source:  Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Hotel Occupancy

• In September 2012, the average daily hotel room rate was $336, a 0.9 percent decrease from September 2011.
• Hotel occupancy was 89.2 percent in September 2012, down from 90.2 percent in September 2011. 
• The average daily hotel room rate increased the most in the highest-price hotels (charging over $450 per night). 

Source: PKF Consulting

Broadway Ticket Sales

• Total Broadway attendance was approximately 862,600 during the four weeks ending October 28, 2012, down 3.9 percent from the same period last year. 
• Broadway revenue during this period was about $82.8 million, down 1.0 percent from last year. 

Note: Gross revenue and attendance figures do not include all shows

Source: The Broadway League