The city economy continued to grow last year, with New Yorkers earning an average of $1,188 a week for a $78 increase from 2013, according to stats released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
There were close to 3.7 million private sector jobs in the city by the end of 2015, nearly 100,000 more from the start of that year, the EDC said. The rise in wages and jobs continues the ongoing rebound of the economy locally, noted EDC president Maria Torres-Springer, who said that New York has added 192,300 private sector jobs since 2014.
“The city continues to create jobs at rates faster than the national average, so we are encouraged that this will continue well into the future,” she said in a statement.
A variety of industries added new jobs in 2015, but four sectors had the biggest impact, the EDC report said. Health care and social assistance jobs contributed 28% of the job growth in 2015, followed by “accommodation and food services” and “finance and insurance” jobs, each of which made up 12% of the growth, and “professional, scientific, and technical services,” which consisted of 11% of the job growth.
Torres-Springer said the tech sector is an important driver of the economy, because it affects every industry.
“We don’t see technology as a siloed sector,” she said. “There are jobs in fashion-tech or fin-tech, for example.”
Although the high cost of living, especially when it comes to rents, continues to grip New Yorkers, Torres-Springer predicted that wages will continue to rise in 2016 as the city trains more New Yorkers in the popular industries and more companies decide to set up shop in the city.
“We are working to create a pipeline of talent that will be prepared for quality jobs at all ranks,” she said.
