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, [...]

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 [...]

2020-11-13T14:48:29-05:00November 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 [...]

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Blacks and Hispanics bear the brunt of the continuing unemployment crisis – in New York and across the country

February 16, 2012. New data show that New York's black and Hispanic workers have been hit especially hard by joblessness during the recession and the weak recovery. According to a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute, No relief in 2012 for high unemployment for African Americans and Latinos, New York is one of 14 states with double digit unemployment rates for both blacks and Hispanics. Press release with New York figures>>

State of Working New York 2011, Part II: Great Recession takes a $31 billion toll on New Yorkers

November 29, 2011. New data show that New York families face smaller incomes, fewer opportunities, more hardship. The Fiscal Policy Institute's 2011 annual edition of the State of Working New York examines how bad the Great Recession and the not-so-great "recovery" have been for the wages and incomes of typical New Yorkers. Of the 504,000 jobs lost, 80 percent are wage and salary positions, and about 20 percent represent fledgling businesses that haven’t been started because of the difficult economic climate. Median household incomes in [...]

Immigrants Make up Half of All Small Business Owners in NYC

October 3, 2011. New numbers from FPI's Immigration Research Institute show that immigrants make up almost half of all small business owners in New York City. And, immigrants in the labor force are somewhat more likely than U.S.-born workers to own small businesses. Immigrant small business owners are an extremely diverse group, with no single country of origin dominating; in fact, the top ten groups together still make up just 45 percent of the total number of immigrant small business owners. The businesses immigrants own [...]

Brooklyn Labor Market Review – Fall 2011

September 26, 2011. Prepared by FPI for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the latest issue of the BLMR finds that Brooklyn led all boroughs in job creation and in new firm creation over the last decade. During this period, Brooklyn added 50,000 jobs while the while New York City as a whole lost 16,000. The borough added not only hundreds of restaurants and retail shops but also health care, business and professional service companies.

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