New York City on Track to Achieve Remarkable Post-Pandemic Jobs Milestone, Reveals EDC Report
The Strength of New York City's Recovery
The number “reaffirms the strength of the city’s recovery,” said EDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. Between June of 2022 and June of 2023, private-sector job growth grew at a rate of 3.9%, higher than 2.5% for the nation as a whole. The U.S. regained all the jobs lost during Covid closures a year ago, and New York appears to be catching up now.
Important Financial Milestones
The city hit other important financial milestones last month, according to the EDC report.
All-Time High Labor Force Participation Rate
The labor force participation rate reached an all-time high of 62.6%, driven in part by improved participation by Black workers, who have endured much higher unemployment rates than other groups throughout the Covid recovery.
Growth in Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship continued to drive economic growth, particularly outside of Manhattan. In 2022, New Yorkers founded 29,000 new businesses (defined as firms with at least one other employee besides the owner). The company creation highlights "the vibrancy of the start-up culture in New York City, as 1 in 7 businesses were started in the last year,” Kimball said.
The entrepreneurs are building across boroughs and industries, the report found. Tech companies accounted for 400 of the new startups, and those firms employed 10,000 people. Restaurants and hotels accounted for another 1,800 new businesses.
Brooklyn Leading the Way
Brooklyn is overrepresented as the hometown of the new companies, with 9,200 firms located in the borough. The new companies add to a long, slow trend of firms moving out of Manhattan that hastened during the period from 2020 to 2022.
The Surge in New Business Formation
City Comptroller Brad Lander called the surge in new business formation “pandemic churn.”
“We’re amidst a transition with remote work,” he said. “It’s creating new opportunity in some ways, but maybe harming others.”
Ensuring Success for New Companies
The trick now, said Bowles, will be making sure that at least some of the new small companies get a shot at growing into bigger businesses. Access to capital and smart, small-scale marketing events can give new firms an important boost. He mentioned food crawls along lesser-known commercial strips.
“We’ve got to make sure these new companies are set up to succeed,” Bowles said.
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