QUESTION
What is the nature of job additions in NYC, and how do they impact the economy?
5:07:37
·
158 sec
Sarah Parker addresses concerns about the types of jobs being added in New York City, emphasizing the rise in low-wage jobs and their effect on the local economy and household affordability.
- New York City's job recovery status is still below pre-pandemic levels, unlike the rest of the country which is above by 3%.
- The majority of new jobs are in low-wage sectors such as home health aids, retail, and leisure and hospitality.
- High-wage sectors like finance and insurance, and professional, scientific, and technical sectors have seen job growth since the pandemic.
- The addition of low-wage jobs raises concerns for the local economy and households' ability to afford living in the city.
- The analysis acknowledges the balance between job addition in both high and low-wage sectors but highlights the need for recovery and better-paying jobs.
Gale Brewer
5:07:37
I appreciate it.
5:07:39
My question is just on the employee 77,000, I think, last year year new and maybe 90,000 this year if that was well sent.
5:07:47
But in other testimonies that we've heard, it's there are many jobs, maybe this listing, $55,000 less.
5:07:55
And there are very few jobs on the higher, and, of course, is such an expensive city, etcetera.
5:08:00
I'm just wondering if you're looking at that because it looks good, 77, 90,000, but not at less than 55,000.
5:08:08
So I'm just wondering where you think that leads us and obviously what we can do to have higher paid jobs or less rent or something.
Sarah Parker
5:08:17
Thank you for that question.
5:08:19
So, certainly, when we look at jobs, we are talking about jobs added over the course of the year, but then there is question of what kinds of jobs is the city adding.
5:08:29
And generally, people talk about these in terms of sectors.
5:08:32
And then in relation to that, average wage of these sectors.
5:08:36
So low paying jobs are always something that we are looking at and concerned about as as people who care deeply about the economic health of this city.
5:08:45
It is important to point out that many sectors both high and low wage are still below pre pandemic levels.
5:08:53
So New York City on the whole, we are just about to the number of jobs that we had in February of 2020 before things came crashing down.
5:09:03
But nationally, the rest of the country is 3% above that.
5:09:06
So New York City is still in this recovery phase, we are still lagging.
5:09:12
One of the places that we are adding new jobs is low wage home health aids.
5:09:17
And this is a trend that was happening many years even before the pandemic.
5:09:23
Other wage other low wage sectors that retail and then the leisure and hospitality sectors, they're also still struggling.
5:09:31
So we have both low wage jobs that were were adding a lot of new jobs in, but also we have low paying jobs that are still in these very much struggling sectors.
5:09:41
And this is in contrast a place that we have added jobs since the pandemic, pre pandemic levels.
5:09:49
Is the finance and insurance sector and the professional scientific and technical sectors.
5:09:55
On the one hand, this provides a cushion for our personal tax revenues.
5:09:59
So our concern in looking at this is less that the city is going to see a hollowing out of our personal income tax.
5:10:06
Revenue.
5:10:07
But one of the things with low paying jobs, there's a concern again to the local economy and also individual household ability to afford to live in this city.