What to Know
- A NYC borough experienced job growth at a faster pace than the rest of the Big Apple, state and US, according to an analysis
- An economic report released Friday by NYS Comptroller revealed Brooklyn set employment records for the eighth consecutive year
- According to state officials, since 2009, Brooklyn added 172,600 private sector jobs, which is more than the 1,400 lost during the recession
Since the end of the recession, a New York City borough has experienced job growth at a faster pace than the rest of the Big Apple, state and nation — producing a record low unemployment rate.
According to an economic report released Friday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Brooklyn has set employment records for the eighth consecutive year.
“It’s an exciting time for Brooklyn with record employment, business growth, and a budding tech sector,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Brooklyn is also home to world-class cultural and academic institutions, which play an important role in the local economy and in attracting new residents.”
According to state officials, since 2009, Brooklyn added 172,600 private sector jobs, which is more than the 1,400 lost during the recession and almost four times as many as during the second strongest expansion between 1992 and 2000.
Since 2009, private sector employment in Brooklyn has increased by 39 percent, outpacing the growth in the rest of the five boroughs, New York State and the nation, according to the report. Employment also grew by 4.4 percent in 2017, almost twice as fast as in the city overall.
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The borough’s unemployment rate fell from its peak of 9.9 percent in 2010 to 4.6 percent in 2017. According to state officials this is the lowest annual level since the data series was created in 1990. Additionally, the unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent in April 2018.
Job growth exceeded 50 percent between 2009 and 2017 in Bedford-Stuyvesant with 77 percent, Flatbush with 70 percent, Borough Park with 66 percent, Bensonhurst with 62 percent and Sheepshead Bay with 59 percent.
According to DiNapoli, there were 61,300 businesses in 2017 — a 32 percent hike since the end of the recession in 2009 and the most since at least 1975 when the data collection began.
The report also revealed that the rate of business growth is the fastest among the five boroughs and almost double the citywide growth rate of 17 percent.
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Additionally, DiNapoli’s report determined that business sales grew by 48 percent between 2009 and 2016 — a rate higher than the citywide growth rate of 44 percent — reaching a record of $13.6 billion in 2016, with the areas of Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant had the fastest growth.
According to the report, the technology sector is one of the fastest-growing and highest paying job fields in Brooklyn. This sector grew by 57 percent, reaching a record of 9,800 jobs last year with an average salary of $92,900. However, the health care and the retail sectors are the largest and second-largest employers in Brooklyn, respectively.
Construction jobs also saw a bump since there was a 63 percent increase in construction permits between 2011 and 2017.
“I’m pleased that [DiNapoli’s] updated analysis shows that the County of Kings continues to outpace the nation with our thriving job market, burgeoning tech sector, and a cultural landscape that is the envy of the world, attracting an estimated 15 million visitors every year,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement, adding “We are the economic engine that drives New York City, New York state, and indeed America.”
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DiNapoli’s report also found that the average household income increased by 31 percent since 2010 to reach $55,200 in 2016, which is a much faster rate of growth than in any other borough.
The report also showcased that the median rent in Brooklyn soared including in the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, and Brownsville and Ocean Hill which experienced a 50-percent hike between 2006 and 2016.
Brooklyn also experienced educational attainment growth at a faster rate than in any other borough since 2000, with only Manhattan having a higher share of college graduates.
But DiNapoli also revealed challenges that the borough is experiencing like poverty and insufficient affordable housing.
The analysis found that there were 5,500 fewer households living in poverty in 2016 than there were six years earlier. However, about 20 percent of Brooklyn household have incomes below the federal poverty line. This percentage is slightly higher than the 18.4 percent citywide rate.
The poverty rate ranged from 10.6 percent in the Canarsie area to 35.6 percent in Brownsville and Ocean Hill, the report found. The senior demographic also had a higher poverty rate of 25.3 percent — more than the citywide 21.6 percent rate.
