Since the pandemic, jobs in NYC have almost fully recovered, but the recovery has been uneven. Tourism, shopping, and restaurants, which have long been seen as the working-class heart of the city, have been impacted harder than other sectors, potentially widening the economic gap in the area.
According to data from the state comptroller’s office, thousands of restaurants, delis, department stores, Broadway plays, and sports employees have still not been restored. Jobs in tourism have also declined.
This is true even though NYC achieved a significant milestone last month, with private sector employment approaching pre-pandemic levels by less than a percentage point.
To make sure that the city’s economic recovery is more robust and inclusive of all New Yorkers, DiNapoli stated in a statement that “we need these sectors, which employ hundreds of thousands of workers, also to regain their full pre-pandemic strength.”
Most lost jobs are in the service sector, with few entrance restrictions. They hire non-college graduates and immigrants.
A job recovery heavily weighted toward high-paying positions could keep lower-income employees down as they battle to recover from the pandemic’s effects.
Retail also suffered a setback from which it has not yet recovered, regaining around 87% of the jobs it lost since the pandemic. The comptroller’s estimates indicate that recovery won’t occur until 2027.
Even though the state recovered 97% of employment, the country recovered all of them, and more jobs were added; the restaurant industry is doing slightly better, recovering about 95% of pre-pandemic jobs.
Restaurants lost 73% of their jobs during the pandemic’s peak, compared to 22% for the rest of the private sector.
The arts have not fully returned either. 85% of pre-pandemic jobs have been recovered in the sector, which includes performing arts, museums, and spectator sports.
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