Economic Outlook

Different View of NY’s Inequality Numbers

March 11, 2013. A letter to the editor by James Parrott, Crain’s New York Business. Greg David's March 4 column (“Inequality debate doesn't reflect reality”) could have been titled “Economists agree NYC's inequality is very high and poverty is up; some think it's a problem.” Fiscal Policy Institute reports have documented this reality: The local economy has fared better than the nation overall in the recovery, yet inflation-adjusted median incomes here have plummeted by 8%, more than for the U.S. overall, and poverty has increased [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:57-05:00March 11th, 2013|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters|

Briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2014 NYC Budget, and a Forward-Looking Budget Agenda

March 5, 2013. Part I of the budget briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2014 NYC Budget makes the following points: Unemployment remains very high in this historically weak “recovery.” NYC job growth better than the U.S., but considerable hardships persist. NYC tax revenues have rebounded, but federal and state aid share declined. State budget choices and pressures continue to squeeze NYC. City-funded expenditures projected to increase 3.4% in FY 2014, with increases in debt service and health insurance. Most agency budgets are cut. Over [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:57-05:00March 5th, 2013|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax Policy|

The NYC School Bus Workers’ Strike

February 8, 2013. One of New York City’s biggest challenges is providing a sufficient number of decent job opportunities to enable its citizens to provide for their families and offer hope of a better life for their children. The city’s pronounced income polarization is fundamentally rooted in the job market. Economic and labor market changes over the years have severely limited the availability of good jobs that provide reasonable health and retirement benefits. These changes, which threaten the survival of New York as a middle [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:58-05:00February 8th, 2013|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Brooklyn Labor Market Review – Winter 2012

December 20, 2012. Prepared by FPI for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the latest issue of the BLMR looks at Brooklyn's food chain including specialty food manufacturing, restaurants, and gourmet food stores. The report finds that when you look at the entire Brooklyn food chain—starting with food manufacturing and wholesale distribution, and including grocery stores, specialty food stores, restaurants and coffee shops—nearly 59,000 people are employed in 7,800 businesses. Thus, the food chain accounts for 16 percent of the 49,000 businesses in Brooklyn, and 12.5 percent of [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:59-05:00December 19th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Deep in the trenches: understanding the dynamics of New York City’s front line workforce development staff

December 7, 2012. Recognition of the crucial role played by front line workforce development workers led Workforce Professionals Training Institute and the Fiscal Policy Institute to undertake a study of this profession in New York City. The objective was to analyze the current state of these jobs and the workers who hold them, with a particular emphasis on issues such as job satisfaction, training, and advancement opportunities, for the purpose of improving the quality of outcomes that workforce professionals are responsible for delivering. The report [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:59-05:00December 7th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Pulling apart: The continuing impact of income polarization in New York State

November 15, 2012. A new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute shows that various income measures all point toward the same conclusions: In recent years, polarization has intensified; and New York has been one of the national leaders in this undesirable trend. The top one percent share of income dipped during the recession, but has started to rise again in the recovery. Further, no state is more polarized than New York and no large city is more polarized than New York City, (using the broadest measure of income polarization, [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:00-05:00November 15th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

With 9/11 as a guide, here are five ways to consider Hurricane Sandy’s economic impact

November 2, 2012. This piece on the economic impact of superstorm Sandy was written by James Parrott for Quartz, the new international business news site (Qz.com) published by The Atlantic Monthly. Since the October jobs report released today reflects employment conditions as of the second week of the month, it doesn’t tell us anything about the impact of Hurricane Sandy, the most devastating storm to hit the New York metro area in decades. What can we expect to see in job reports in the months [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:00-05:00November 2nd, 2012|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy|

The Applied Sciences NYC Initiative: FPI Testimony

September 28, 2012. In testimony submitted to the New York City Council Committees on Economic Development, Higher Education and Technology, James A. Parrott, FPI’s Deputy Director and Chief Economist, concluded that the “Applied Sciences NYC Initiative” represents an important step in diversifying the New York City economy. According to Parrott, this initiative, which includes the plan for the development by Cornell and Technion Universities of a new engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, as well as projects involving NYU and Columbia University, is “a conscious effort [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:01-05:00September 28th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

NYC’s Rising Poverty and Falling Incomes Since the Great Recession

September 27, 2012. The latest data from the Census Bureau on poverty and incomes in 2011 clearly show that New York City has a long way to go to make up for the erosion in living standards caused by the Great Recession of 2008-09. Since the start of the recession, 200,000 more city residents have fallen into poverty, bringing the total to 1.7 million out of a population of 8.1 million. For 2011, the federal poverty threshold for a 3-person family was $17,916. Poverty has [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:01-05:00September 27th, 2012|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce|

Employment Patterns in NYC’s Low-Income Neighborhoods

September 12, 2012. James Parrott presented an overview of income and earnings to the New York City Workforce Funders, a group that meets quarterly to share information about workforce issues and enhance the effectiveness of New York City's workforce development programs.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:02-05:00September 12th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

State of Working New York 2012: Data Show a Disappointingly Weak Recovery

September 2, 2012. How are New Yorkers faring? Here's the gist of this year's annual report from FPI on the New York State economy: Unemployment in New York State has been around eight percent or higher for the past three and a half years, the longest stretch since the mid-1970s. The average duration of unemployment is currently nine months. The historic weakness of the recovery stems from the severity and nature of the Great Recession and financial collapse. Nationally, job growth has been about one [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:03-05:00September 2nd, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

The Consolidated Edison Lockout: FPI Testimony

July 25, 2012. Testimony presented to the New York Assembly Standing Committees on Labor, Energy and Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. In sum: Con Ed's lockout of its skilled workforce is unnecessarily putting the people of New York City and Westchester County at risk of serious electric, gas and steam outages. Con Ed's actions jeopardize the incomes of thousands of hourly-paid workers and the business activity and viability of small businesses throughout the regional economy. Given the slow recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-2009, we [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:16-05:00July 25th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Helping the Helpers Will Help Us All: The Economic Situation of New York City’s Health Care and Social Assistance Sector

May 7, 2012. A new report from FPI looks at the importance of jobs in the nonprofit health care and social assistance sector in New York City, and examines how the hardships facing the city's low-income population - the main constituency served by the nonprofit human services sector - have grown in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008-2009 and the weak recovery over the past three years. Full report Press release Companion report released by the Human Services Council of New York City Also [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:19-05:00May 7th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Must Read, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|

The Governor’s Proposed Budget: Continued Scarce Funding for Women, Families and Youth in a Weak Recovery

March 21, 2012. With a weak recovery, unemployment remains high and hardships have mounted for many New York City women, families and youth. Prepared for the New York Women's Foundation, this brief finds that three years of state budget cuts have frayed the safety net during a time of growing need, making it harder for low-income women to access income and job supports as well as vital supportive services, and to secure jobs with a future. The governor's proposed budget makes further cuts in many [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:20-05:00March 21st, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2013 New York City Budget

March 6, 2012. Unemployment remains very high in this historically weak "recovery" in NYC, as across the country, and considerable hardships persist. In addition, NYS budget choices and pressures continue to squeeze NYC. The Mayor's budget can only be described as austere: although needs have grown in the wake of the recession, NYC spending on human services funding has fallen by 10 percent. Income concentration has resumed, underscoring the need for progressive tax reform. NYC's business tax expenditures have risen sharply; addressing several tax inequities [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:21-05:00March 6th, 2012|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|