ECONOMIC NEWS
New York State Assembly


Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the Assembly


Herman D. Farrell, Jr.
Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee

October 1, 2001  

EDWARD M. CUPOLI, CHIEF ECONOMIST

Employment and Wages in
New York City, Manhattan, and Manhattan Localities



The purpose of the following is to provide a baseline for further research.

Summary

More than half a million private sector jobs (7.3 percent of State private sector employment) were affected by the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC). The area below 14th Street in Manhattan was the source of $47.0 billion in wages in 2000. This represents 14.9 percent of wages in New York State in 2000. While just one-third of these jobs were in the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (FIRE) sector, two-thirds of wages were in the FIRE sector. Large business establishments in the FIRE sector account for a high share of the activity in this section of Manhattan.

Comparison of New York State and New York City

A large share of New York State's economic activity occurs in New York City. In 2000, 44.3 percent of New York State's 6.9 million private sector jobs were in New York City (see Table 1). While the City contained less than half of the State's jobs, 58.7 percent of wages ($184.9 billion of the $314.9 billion) were earned in New York City. On average, jobs in the City pay more than in the rest of the State.

Table 1


PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN
NEW YORK STATE AND NEW YORK CITY
2000

 

New York State

New York City

City's Share of State


  Employment

6.9 million

3.1 million

44.3 percent

  Wages

$314.9 billion

$184.9 billion

58.7 percent


Source: NYS Department of Labor.



Comparison of New York City and Manhattan

Just as New York City has a large share of New York State's employment and wages, Manhattan has a large share of New York City's employment and wages. In 2000, 62.9 percent of the City's 3.1 million private sector jobs were in Manhattan (see Table 2). Wages in Manhattan were $152.0 billion out of New York City's $184.9 total, or 82.2 percent. On average, Manhattan's jobs pay more than jobs in the rest of New York City.

Table 2


PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN
NEW YORK CITY AND MANHATTAN
2000

 

New York City

Manhattan

Manhattan's Share of City


  Employment

3.1 million

1.9 million

62.9 percent

  Wages

$184.9 billion

$152.0 billion

82.2 percent


Source: NYS Department of Labor.



Below 14 Street and the World Trade Center Vicinity

In the week following the attack on the World Trade Center, most economic activity below 14th Street in Manhattan came to a halt. All businesses were closed and no traffic was allowed below 14th Street. Continued disruptions to some portions of the area below 14th Street are expected for several more weeks. In the vicinity of the World Trade Center, pre-attack levels of economic activity will not resume in the near future.

Table 3 shows employment and wages in Manhattan, below 14th street and in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. Twenty-six percent of Manhattan's 1.9 million jobs are in this area (501,000 jobs). Wages below 14th Street were $47.0 billion in 2000 and accounted for 30.9 percent of all Manhattan wages. In the vicinity of the World Trade Center there were 99,200 jobs. Although these jobs totaled only 5.2 percent of Manhattan's total, they earned 9.1 percent ($13.8 billion) of all Manhattan's wages.

Table 3


PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN MANHATTAN,
BELOW 14TH STREET AND THE WORLD TRADE CENTER VICINITY
2000

 

Manhattan

Below 14th Street

Below 14th Street's Share of Manhattan

WTC Vicinity

WTC Vicinity's Share of Manhattan


Employment

1.9 million

501,000

26.1 percent

99,200

5.2 percent

Wages

$152.0 billion

$47.0 billion

30.9 percent

$13.8 billion

9.1 percent


Source: NYS Department of Labor.



Table 4 shows the industry breakdown of employment and wages below 14th Street and in the World Trade Center vicinity. While the FIRE sector accounts for only about one-third of jobs below 14th Street, it accounts for two-thirds of wages. The securities industry, a sub-sector of the finance industry, accounts for 20 percent of employment and nearly 50 percent of wages. Although the service sector accounts for 38.3 percent of employment, it accounts for only 22.3 percent of wages below 14th Street.

The concentration of FIRE sector employment was even greater in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. More than half of the employment around the WTC was in this sector in 2000. The FIRE sector accounted for 82.4 percent of wages. The securities industry alone accounted for 60.4 percent of wages, yet it employed only 34.1 percent of workers. Service sector employment accounted for 12.0 percent of wages and 26.0 percent of employment around the WTC.

Table 4


PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES BY INDUSTRY
BELOW 14TH STREET AND THE WORLD TRADE CENTER VICINITY
2000

 

Below 14th Street

World Trade Center Vicinity

Industry

Employment
Share

Wage
Share

Employment
Share

Wage
Share


FIRE

33.8

65.5

57.8

82.4

  Finance

26.6

59.6

49.4

77.7

    Securities Industry

19.9

49.3

34.1

60.4

  Insurance &
  Real Estate

7.2

5.9

8.4

4.7

Services

38.3

22.3

26.0

12.0

Other Industries

27.9

12.2

16.2

5.6

Total Private

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0


Source: NYS Department of Labor.



Table 5 shows the shares of private sector employment and wages by establishment size below 14th Street for selected industries. Overall, establishments with over 500 workers account for 55.9 percent of wages and employ 36.6 percent of the workforce in this area. The FIRE sector has a greater share of employment (59.9 percent) and wages (71.3 percent) in establishments over 500 persons. The securities industry sub-sector is concentrated in large establishments. Seventy-eight percent of wages and 72.5 percent of employment occurs in establishments with more than 500 employees.

Table 5


EMPLOYMENT, WAGES, AND NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS BY ESTABLISHMENT SIZE
BELOW 14TH STREET
2000

 

% Employment

% Wages

% Establishments

Industry

1-500 employees

Greater than 500 employees

1-500 employees

Greater than 500 employees

1-500 employees

Greater than 500 employees


FIRE

40.1

59.9

28.7

71.3

98.7

1.3

  Finance

32.1

67.9

25.3

74.7

97.4

2.6

    Securities Industry

27.5

72.5

21.8

78.2

97.6

2.4

  Insurance
  & Real Estate

59.1

40.9

56.9

43.1

99.5

0.5

Services

66.9

33.1

71.3

28.7

99.5

0.5

Other Industries

86.7

13.3

77.3

22.7

99.6

0.4

Total Private

63.4

36.6

44.1

55.9

99.4

0.6


Source: NYS Department of Labor.



Note: The geographic area referred to as "World Trade Center and its Vicinity" can be roughly described as being south of Chambers Street and west of Broadway. The World Trade Center and its Vicinity includes the following zip codes: 10006, 10007, 10280, 10256, 10281, 10285, 10047, 10048, 10080, 10126, 10249, 10278, 10286, 10282, and 10279. The area below 14th Street also includes these additional zip codes: 10004, 10005,10041, 10274, 10275, 10043, 10045, 10081, 10260, 10265, 10268, 10269, 10270, 10271, 10038, 10272, 10273, 10292, 10013, 10002, 10012, 10009, 10003, 10011, 10055, 10113, 10114, 10177, 10213, 10276, 10277, and 10278.

Figure 1. Manhattan Below 14th Street Map of Manhattan Below 14th Street Source: New York State Assembly, September 28, 2001. UTM 18 - NAD 27, Scale: 1:29,060

WTC Area Zip Codes

Single location zip codes are listed below under the zip code containing them. These locations are shown as points on the map above.

10003
10055
10114
10276

10004
10041
10274
10275

10005
10043, 10045
10081, 10260
10265, 10268
10269, 10270
10271

10006
10256

10007
10008, 10080
10126, 10242
10249, 10277
10278, 10279
10282, 10286

10013
10213

10038
10272
10273
10292

10280
10047
10048
10281
10285

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