New York City has long served as a cradle of economic opportunity. A place where the strength of our industries and the creativity of our people create opportunities that allow new and native New Yorkers to improve their economic standing.
Today’s affordability crisis, years of mounting competition from other U.S. metros, and shifts related to the pandemic are changing that dynamic. As the city’s civic and policy conversations focus on the urgent question of achieving economic justice for all New Yorkers, it is critical to understand the labor market conditions, industry trends, and structural shifts reshaping work. From this starting point, we can understand where the economy is generating opportunity, where it is leaving residents behind, and what it will take to grow family-sustaining jobs, increase the supply of housing, address affordability, and create the conditions for a strong economy that delivers for all New Yorkers.
This report provides a data-driven foundation for a conversation on the economic health of the city to inform how civic leaders and policymakers pursue economic justice and competitiveness. The City and Region face hurdles and potential challenges from a few trends:
What the data shows
Although the City has surpassed its peak employment prior to the pandemic, the recovery is leaving New Yorkers behind, especially Black New Yorkers and Bronx residents.
Sun Belt metros are outpacing the New York metro in adding higher wage jobs. For every high-wage job the New York region added in finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services, Dallas added three.
The industries fueling growth in New York City are relatively accessible, but don’t provide stable wages for workers to thrive. Healthcare is driving job growth in the City, but the median wage for those jobs leaves workers unable to afford the median rent – a gap which is wider in New York City than any of the 10 largest metros in the United States. These healthcare jobs are disproportionately held by workers who are Black and female.
Among the professional services and public administration industries that offer higher wages, the workforce has a greater representation of white workers compared to the citywide workforce.
New York City’s affordability challenges span industries. When we look at median wages compared to median rent across industries and occupations, few industries provide wages to support families.
Roughly 1.4 million New Yorkers work in jobs where the median wage has declined in real terms since 2019, meaning one third of New Yorkers are earning less today than they were before the pandemic.
Affordability challenges are steepest for workers in jobs that have traditionally offered a pathway to the middle class. The 65% of occupations that do not require a four-year degree pay a median wage nearly $60,000 less than roles that do require a four-year degree.
The rapid emergence of AI adds a further layer of uncertainty to New York City’s labor market outlook. With its potential to displace some jobs, transform others, and create entirely new categories of work, the full scale of AI’s impact remains unknown, making long-term economic planning both more urgent and more complex.
For this analysis, we primarily rely on data from American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2015 and 2025. This includes BLS QCEW reports through December 2025, released as of June 2, 2026. Analysis in this report focuses on New York City except when comparing trends to other regions, in which case it uses the Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Additional information on methodology is available here.
Employment and labor force trends
Where does NYC's labor market stand today?
New York City recovered employment from the pandemic and exceeded its prior peak by 3.6%, reaching 4.65 million jobs in 2025.
Total employment
By borough, annual total employment, 2015–2025
Stacked bar chart of annual total employment in New York City by borough from 2015 to 2025.
† QCEW data are derived from unemployment insurance records and cover ~95% of all wage and salary employment, making them the most complete jobs count available at the city and county level. Data are published with a five-to-six month lag.
‡ The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly employer survey estimates released within weeks of the reference month, but is subject to revision. BLS benchmarks CES annually to QCEW — a process that has produced two consecutive downward revisions of roughly 900,000 jobs nationally (March 2024 and March 2025), among the largest in decades. Monthly CES data for the New York City metro are available here.
Source: BLS QCEW (annual) & CES (monthly)
While New York City has gained 161K new jobs as compared to 2019, the recovery is not felt uniformly.
Net new jobs since 2019
By borough, cumulative change in employment
Line chart of cumulative net jobs added since 2019 by NYC borough, with each borough drawn as a separate line.
Brooklyn has experienced the greatest growth in employment, adding 129K net new jobs since 2019 (from 795K to 924K)
Manhattan is still 39,000 jobs short of where it was before the pandemic, even as the rest of the city has recovered (from 2.53M to 2.49M)
† QCEW data are derived from unemployment insurance records and cover ~95% of all wage and salary employment, making them the most complete jobs count available at the city and county level. Data are published with a five-to-six month lag.
‡ The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly employer survey estimates released within weeks of the reference month, but is subject to revision. BLS benchmarks CES annually to QCEW — a process that has produced two consecutive downward revisions of roughly 900,000 jobs nationally (March 2024 and March 2025), among the largest in decades. Monthly CES data for the New York City metro are available here.
Source: BLS QCEW (annual) & CES (monthly)
Among the 10 largest U.S. metros, the New York City MSA ranks near the bottom in job growth since 2019, far behind fast-growing Sun Belt peers.
Net new jobs since 2019
By metro area, cumulative change in total employment
Line chart of cumulative net jobs added since 2019 for the 10 largest U.S. metros, with the NYC MSA highlighted.
Dallas and Phoenix have grown the fastest, each expanding employment by about 11% since 2019 (+415K and +241K jobs)
The NYC MSA has barely moved — down 14,000 jobs since 2019, even as Sun Belt peers surged ahead (from 9.54M to 9.53M)
CBSAs denoted by primary cities.
† QCEW data are derived from unemployment insurance records and cover ~95% of all wage and salary employment, making them the most complete jobs count available at the city and county level. Data are published with a five-to-six month lag.
‡ The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly employer survey estimates released within weeks of the reference month, but is subject to revision. BLS benchmarks CES annually to QCEW — a process that has produced two consecutive downward revisions of roughly 900,000 jobs nationally (March 2024 and March 2025), among the largest in decades. Monthly CES data for the New York City metro are available here.
Source: BLS QCEW (annual)
Black New Yorkers and Bronx residents are getting bypassed in the city's economic growth.
Unemployment rate
Change from 2015 to 2025, by race and borough
Dot plots comparing 2015 and 2025 unemployment rates by race and by borough, NYC.
Black New Yorkers are the only group whose unemployment rose since 2015 — every other group improved (8.0% → 8.5%)
The Bronx still has the city's highest unemployment of any borough, even after improving since 2015 (8.2% vs. 5.4% citywide)
The unemployment rate covers workers age 16+. The hollow dot is 2015, the solid dot is2025. Most groups are shown in dark grey, NYC is black, and focus groups are highlighted in blue. 2025 values are projected.
Source: Census ACS PUMS (HR&A analysis of IPUMS USA); BLS LAUS
Industry trends
Which industries are growing, contracting, or at risk?
The jobs growing in New York City are paying too little to live here.
Net new jobs by industry since 2015
Citywide change in employment, 2015–2025, with each industry's 2025 median wage
| Industry | Net jobsNet new jobs, 2015–2025 | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | +351K | $75K |
| Transportation & Utilities | +89K | $59K |
| Professional & Business | +76K | $94K |
| Government | +66K | $80K |
| Educational | +46K | $79K |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate (FIRE) | +43K | $89K |
| Information | +35K | $101K |
| Accommodation & Food | +18K | $45K |
| Arts & Entertainment | +8K | $60K |
| Natural Resources, Mining & Construction | 0K | $81K |
| Other Services | −5K | $67K |
| Manufacturing | −27K | $67K |
| Trade | −77K | $61K |
The city's job growth since 2015 is uneven: healthcare alone added 351K jobs, while retail shed 77K and manufacturing lost 27K.
Growth is concentrated in healthcare, transportation, professional services, and government.
Except for professional services, these are all industries that are more accessible to people without a four-year degree, but without the wages to keep up with the cost of the city.
Net jobs are the change in QCEW employment between 2015 and 2025. Median wage is the 2025 occupation-weighted OEWS median for each industry, in 2025 dollars; the wage column is shaded from red (lowest) to green (highest).
Source: BLS QCEW (LODES-based borough rollup) & BLS OEWS
Of the 351K healthcare jobs added between 2015 and 2025, more than half were added in Brooklyn.
Healthcare jobs added by borough since 2015
Citywide change in employment, 2015–2025
Donut chart showing the borough-level distribution of net new healthcare jobs added in NYC between 2015 and 2025.
- BK+187K · 53%
- QN+75K · 21%
- MN+51K · 14%
- BX+31K · 9%
- SI+7K · 2%
Brooklyn added 187,000 of the 351,000 healthcare jobs created citywide between 2015 and 2025 — 53% of the total.
Source: BLS QCEW (LODES-based borough rollup)
The median wage for healthcare in 2025 was $75,000, just below the citywide median of $77,000.
These healthcare jobs are disproportionately held by Black and female workers.
Black workers
25.7%
of NYC’s healthcare workforce
Citywide 16.6%
Women
73.5%
of NYC’s healthcare workforce
Citywide 49.2%
For every new finance or tech job added since 2015, New York City created 4.5 in healthcare — an industry where the median wage can't cover the median rent.
New York City added a combined 78,000 jobs in finance, insurance, real estate, and information between 2015 and 2025, equal to only 22% of the total 351,000 healthcare jobs added over the same period.
Net new jobs since 2015: healthcare vs. finance & tech
Citywide change in employment, 2015–2025
Finance & Tech refers to finance, insurance, real estate, and information.
Source: BLS QCEW (LODES-based borough rollup)
The three fastest-growing occupations in NYC all share one thing in common: workers in each cannot afford the median rent — and the gap between wages and rent is worse here than in any of the other 10 largest American metros.
Net new jobs by occupation since 2015
Citywide change in employment, 2015–2025, with max affordable rent (green = can afford NYC median rent of $3,223/mo; red = cannot)
| Occupation | Net jobsNet new jobs, 2015–2025 | Max rentMax affordable rent | WageMedian wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners | +109K | $2,720/mo | $109K |
| Healthcare Support | +103K | $1,002/mo | $40K |
| Office & Admin Support | +69K | $1,377/mo | $55K |
| Management | +35K | $4,300/mo | $172K |
| Business & Financial | +34K | $2,595/mo | $104K |
| Education & Library | +29K | $1,898/mo | $76K |
| Computer & Mathematical | +26K | $3,328/mo | $133K |
| Community & Social Service | +21K | $1,596/mo | $64K |
| Food Prep & Serving | +19K | $954/mo | $38K |
| Transportation & Moving | +15K | $1,168/mo | $47K |
Net jobs are the change in OEWS employment between 2015 and 2025 (NYC citywide). Median wage is the 2025 OEWS occupation median in 2025 dollars. Max affordable rent is 30% of the median annual wage divided by 12.
Source: BLS OEWS & Zillow Observed Rent Index
Jobs with higher wages that can support families are relatively stagnant or growing more slowly in the New York region as compared to the 10 largest American metropolitan regions.
Two horizontal bar charts comparing net jobs added in FIRE and Professional & Business industries across the 10 largest U.S. metros, 2015 to 2025, with the NYC MSA highlighted.
Dallas added 3 jobs in finance, insurance, real estate, and professional and business services for every 1 job added in the New York region (NYC MSA) over the last 10 years.
Employment change in higher-wage industries, 2015–2025
Net jobs added, NYC MSA vs. peer metros
The Dallas metro (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA, including Arlington and surrounding counties) added 247,000 jobs in these industries between 2015 and 2025 while the New York metro added 82,000.
Source: BLS QCEW
Professional services are among the highest-paying industries — and the hardest to enter without a four-year degree.
Dumbbell chart comparing median annual wages for jobs requiring a four-year degree versus those that do not, across the Information, FIRE, and Professional & Business industries with a citywide benchmark, NYC 2025.
Citywide, only 35% of jobs require a four-year degree, but workers with the credential earn about twice as much as those without. The finance and professional-services industries pay among the city’s highest wages, but they are also some of the least accessible to people without a college degree. In Information, 60% of jobs require a four-year degree and degree-holders earn a median wage of $126,000 – 99% more than the job that does not require a 4-year degree. In Professional & Business Services, 50% of jobs require a 4-year degree, and the median wage increases from $63,000 to $126,000 for workers with a 4-year degree; in FIRE, 44% require one and pay runs from $65,000 to $119,000.
Median wage by degree requirement, Information & Professional services vs. all industries
NYC median annual wage (2025$) for jobs that do and don't require a Bachelor's degree, with the share of each industry's jobs requiring one
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (NYC-area wages) · BLS Employment Projections 2024 occupation-education crosswalk · BLS QCEW 2024 NYC industry employment weights
Economic shifts since the pandemic
What structural changes since the pandemic are reshaping work, wages, and opportunity in the city?
Wages in New York aren’t keeping up with the rising cost of living. 1.4 million workers in New York are making less in 2025 than they did in 2019 when accounting for inflation.
Dumbbell chart comparing real (inflation-adjusted) median annual wages across NYC occupations over two periods.
Wages grew across every occupation except construction between 2015 and 2020.
However, between 2020 and 2025, real wages only increased among the highest and lowest earning occupation groups. Among middle-income jobs, wages have remained flat since 2020. None of the occupations earning between $50K and $100K saw any real wage growth (adjusted for inflation) over the last five years.
Each row shows one occupation’s median annual real wage at the start and end of each period (hollow dot = start year, solid dot = end year). Green segments mark periods where real pay rose; red segments mark periods where it fell. Wages are in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U NY Metro, CUURS12ASA0). Occupations sorted by 2025 wages, highest to lowest.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) · real series deflated with CPI-U NY Metro (CUURS12ASA0)
Very few jobs in NYC pay enough to raise a child alone, and many dual-income families with children struggle as well.
While peer MSAs are growing jobs that families can live on, New York’s affordability crisis is becoming a reason for families to consider moving elsewhere
New jobs by living wage
Citywide change in employment 2015–2025, with living wage comparison by household type
| Occupation | Net new jobs, 2015–2025 | Single parent, 1 childNeed $113K/yr | 2 adults, 2 childrenNeed $77K/yr each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners | +109K | ✗ | ✓ |
| Healthcare Support | +103K | ✗ | ✗ |
| Office & Admin Support | +69K | ✗ | ✗ |
| Management | +35K | ✓ | ✓ |
| Business & Financial | +34K | ✗ | ✓ |
| Education & Library | +29K | ✗ | ✗ |
| Computer & Mathematical | +26K | ✓ | ✓ |
| Community & Social Service | +21K | ✗ | ✗ |
| Food Prep & Serving | +19K | ✗ | ✗ |
| Transportation & Moving | +15K | ✗ | ✗ |
Net jobs are the change in OEWS employment between 2015 and 2025 (NYC citywide). Living wage thresholds are from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator for the NYC-Newark-Jersey City MSA (2026 edition), which estimates the minimum income needed to cover basic expenses without public assistance. For two-earner households, MIT splits the requirement across both earners; each adult must individually meet the per-earner threshold.
Source: BLS OEWS · MIT Living Wage Calculator (NYC-Newark-Jersey City MSA, 2026) · U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (PEP), Components of Change, 2020–2025
New York is creating jobs 2X faster than housing units, which underscores the need to increase housing development.
Horizontal bar chart of the ratio of net new jobs to residential housing permits, 2015 to 2025, across the 10 largest U.S. metros.
Between 2015 and 2025, the city added two new jobs for every housing unit permit pulled, further constraining supply. A healthy city that is expanding economic opportunity needs housing to be growing at the same rate as jobs. Among the 10 largest metros in the United States – Dallas and Phoenix have a healthy balance between housing and job growth – leading to affordability and becoming a more desirable place to live.
Jobs per housing permit by metro, 2015–2025
Cumulative net new jobs divided by residential permits issued, 10 largest US metros
Source: BLS QCEW (employment) · Census Building Permits Survey (residential permits)
New Yorkers are commuting less – and it’s reshaping the City’s economic geography.
Hybrid work has become the norm: 12.5% of New Yorkers work from home at least part of the week, rising to 18.1% in Manhattan.
Work-from-home share of resident workers by borough, 2015–2024
Line chart of the share of resident workers working from home across NYC and its five boroughs, 2015 to 2024.
- NYC
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- Staten Island
- Bronx
Source: ACS B08301 annual estimates · residence-based commute mode (no 2020 1-year release)
New Yorkers are visiting the office on par with other cities, just not as frequently as we used to.
Average weekly office occupancy over the last six months, as a percent of each metro’s pre-pandemic baseline
Horizontal bar chart of average weekly office occupancy over the last six months, as a percent of each metro’s pre-pandemic baseline, across the 10 largest U.S. metros.
Over the last six months, NYC office occupancy averaged 53.5%of its pre-pandemic baseline – trailing only Austin (71.0%), Dallas (60.1%), Houston (58.4%).
Source: Kastle Systems — Back to Work Barometer · weekly office occupancy indexed to the pre-pandemic (Feb 2020) baseline