General Information » Economy » New York Overview

The start of this decade came with a full swag-bag of bangs – from the pop of the dot-coms to the national recession and then of course 9/11. However, despite the adverse gloom, the city’s economic cycle has surprisingly – and for the most part – stayed on track.



Growth

The Federal Bank recorded that as of May 2006, the labour market was looking considerably stronger, with both the rate of job creation and job return picking up. The rise in GDP can be put down to the technological advancements successfully garnered by the United States. New York, in the role of the country’s epicentre for finance, commerce, IT and information, served to considerably influence the figures, well deserving its own standing ovation.

The city was touted the world’s 25th fastest growing economy in 2005 with its own GDP of 3.3% (0.2% shy of the national number). That same year, the annual per capita personal income was little over $50,000, up 5.9% from the previous year, ranking fifth in the nation and eighth in the world.



Trade

Hub of the western world’s banking, financial and communication sectors, New York is a beast unto itself trade-wise. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) sits proudly on Wall Street and the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated that the gross state product for 2005 was $963.5 billion, third after California and Texas.

New York State is in the top five states for agriculture with outputs including dairy, cattle and livestock, and apples (of course!). Industrial outputs include printing and publishing, tourism, scientific instruments and chemical products.

The top five export markets in 2004 were Canada ($30.2 billion), UK ($3.3 billion), Japan ($2.6 billion), Israel ($2.4 billion), and Switzerland ($1.8 billion).



Employment

New York City experienced an unorthodox and unexpected employment growth for four consecutive years and ended the 90s on a considerable high. Even before the terrorist attacks, a slight dip in figures was starting to show and 9/11 merely accelerated a general slowing down in the job market. Immediately following the attacks, the private sector suffered continual employment drops that accumulated to a little over 7% in decline (that’s around 225,000 jobs). The negative effects of the terrorist attacks have since shrunk, with economists citing little evidence of it causing a lasting effect.



New Developments

The city, renowned for not sleeping, is not about to rest on its laurels just yet, with more developments than you can shake a stick at.

The Empire State Building celebrated its 75th birthday in 2006 by opening a second observation deck, this time on the top flo...