Photo Courtesy of Edwin Torres/Mayoral Photography Office
In other positive employment news, Mayor de Blasio last week announced that 200 new jobs will be created by the soon-to-be launched Citywide Ferry Service.
By Forum Staff
Citywide unemployment dropped to a record low of 4.5 percent in January 2017, the lowest rate since 1976, which is the earliest available unemployment data from the State Department of Labor, according to the City Economic Development Corporation.
The unemployment rate breaks the previous record of 4.6 percent in December 2006, and is down from 5.3 percent in January 2016. And citywide unemployment is down from 8.1 percent in December 2013, representing a 3.6 percent drop since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office.
“As our economy continues to grow, we are seeing record low unemployment and new jobs in nearly every sector,” said Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for Housing and Economic Development. “This is happening because we are making smart, targeted investments, building an accessible economy with more middle class jobs — and the training New Yorkers need to get them.”
According to EDC, based on a seasonally-adjusted analysis, the City added 39,000 private-sector jobs in January 2017. The City has added 329,800 private sector jobs since de Blasio took office in 2014.
Educational Services contributed to the majority of the job growth in January 2017, EDC noted, adding 12,900 jobs. Accommodation & Food Services and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services had the next largest gains with 6,100 and 3,300, respectively.
“Our job creation strategy is about pulling more people into the middle class, and creating better opportunities for their families. While we are seeing incredible job gains and a historically low unemployment rate, we must focus our attention on job quality,” said EDC President and CEO James Patchett. “We are going to continue to make targeted investments across the five boroughs to pull in more New Yorkers and create 100,000 quality jobs over the next decade.”
EDC also noted that in his State of the City address, de Blasio committed to creating 100,000 good jobs in the five boroughs over the next 10 years, with 40,000 of them coming in the next four years. Since then, the City unveiled a new ‘Made in New York’ Campus at Bush Terminal which create 1,500 new jobs in film, television and garment manufacturing.
In late February, de Blasio unveiled plans for a Union Square Tech Hub that will reportedly generate 600 good-paying jobs and will include a digital job training facility for all New Yorkers as well as modern, flexible workspaces designed to meet the needs of early-stage startups in New York’s innovation economy.
Earlier this week, de Blasio announced the creation of 200 new jobs through the soon to be launched Citywide Ferry Service. Through six routes, the new transportation system is set to connect New Yorkers along the city’s waterfronts to job centers in Sunset Park, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and lower Manhattan, among others.
According to EDC, jobs and wages have gone up in every borough since the beginning of the de Blasio administration. Specifically, Brooklyn saw the highest growth in private sector jobs with an increase of 12.8 percent; the Bronx saw the biggest drop in unemployment, with a decrease of 4.4 percentage points; and Manhattan saw the highest growth in average wages, with an increase of 5.9 percent.
