An Economic Snapshot of the Bronx
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An Economic Snapshot of the Bronx Thomas P. DiNapoli Kenneth B. Bleiwas New York State Comptroller Deputy Comptroller Report 4-2014 July 2013 Highlights The Bronx has come a long way since the 1970s. Both public and private investments have helped • The Bronx has added 240,000 residents between create new businesses, which in turn have 1980 and 2012, an increase of 20 percent. generated thousands of new jobs. More recently, • Private sector employment grew by 7.7 percent as the economic environment has improved, between 2007 and 2012, outpacing all the other private investment has accelerated in the Bronx. boroughs except Brooklyn. Since 1983, the Bronx has added 53,600 jobs, an increase of In fact, the Bronx weathered the Great Recession 33 percent. better than the nation and New York City’s four • Health care, social services and educational other boroughs. While the United States as a services accounted for nearly half of the private whole still has not recovered all of the jobs it lost sector jobs in 2012, reflecting the large number during the recession, the number of jobs in the of medical facilities and institutions of higher Bronx has grown without interruption since 2007. education located in the Bronx. Residents are choosing to stay in the Bronx and • Total private sector wages reached $9.3 billion in raise their families there, as crime has been greatly 2012, the highest level on record. The average reduced and communities have been revitalized. private sector salary was $43,610, higher than in The Bronx has also become a magnet for Brooklyn and Staten Island. immigrants seeking a new start. These factors • The number of businesses in the Bronx rose by have helped the borough regain nearly three- 26 percent between 1990 and 2011. Business quarters of the population lost in the 1970s. growth has been strong in the South Bronx, where the number of businesses grew by Economic development in the Bronx benefits from 25 percent between 2000 and 2011. the borough’s close proximity to New Jersey and Manhattan’s central business district, as well as • Most businesses in the Bronx are small; in 2011, access to extensive highway and railway networks, two-thirds employed fewer than 5 employees and 80 percent employed fewer than 10 employees. an integrated mass transit system and a still underdeveloped waterfront. The addition of • Over the past 25 years, the public sector has commuter rail service to Manhattan and to the created or rehabilitated more than 100,000 northern suburbs (currently being contemplated by housing units, and the private sector has added the Metropolitan Transportation Authority) would thousands more. Even with government subsidies, nearly one-fifth of Bronx households further spur economic development. spend more than half of their incomes on rent. While the Bronx has made great strides over the • The number of serious crimes in the Bronx has past four decades, the borough still faces fallen by 75 percent since 1990, and the number challenges. The unemployment rate remains high, of homicides has fallen by 78 percent in the past educational attainment is low and many residents 19 years. still live in poverty. • The Bronx is one of Metro-North Railroad’s Continued private and public investment in the fastest-growing markets (weekday boardings Bronx and the rest of New York City will produce have tripled since 1985). new jobs, although these jobs will increasingly • Several green initiatives are underway in the demand a well-educated workforce. Job creation Bronx to reduce pollution and lower energy in the Bronx and elsewhere in New York City will costs for businesses and residents. generate new opportunities for Bronx residents. Office of the State Comptroller 1 Population Employment The Bronx lost 20 percent of its population Private sector employment in the Bronx has been between 1970 and 1980, but since then the on an upward trend since 1983, interrupted only population has been growing (see Figure 1). by the recessions of the early 1990s and early According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bronx 2000s (see Figure 2). After a pause in 2007, added nearly 220,000 residents between 1980 and private sector employment has grown 2010, an increase of 18 percent, and added another continuously to reach a record of more than 23,400 in the following two years to reach more 214,000 jobs in 2012. Between 1983 and 2012, the than 1.4 million in 2012. Overall, the Bronx has Bronx added 53,600 jobs, an increase of regained nearly three-quarters of the population 33 percent. lost in the 1970s because more people are Figure 2 choosing to stay in the Bronx and raise their Private Sector Employment in the Bronx families there, and the borough is attracting 225 immigrants. 200 Figure 1 Population of the Bronx 175 1.6 150 1.4 Thousands of Thousands Jobs 1.2 125 1.0 100 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 0.8 0.6 MillionsPeople of Source: NYS Department of Labor 0.4 0.2 During the five-year period ending in 2012, which 0.0 covers both the Great Recession and the recovery, 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 private sector employment in the Bronx grew by Source: U.S. Census Bureau 7.7 percent, outpacing growth in all the other Nearly 17 percent of New York City’s residents boroughs except Brooklyn. In fact, the Bronx was live in the Bronx. Between 2000 and 2012, the the only borough where annual employment did population in the Bronx grew by 5.6 percent, not decline during the recession. faster than the rate of growth in the rest of the City Nearly 15,300 jobs (net) were added in the Bronx (3.7 percent). Of all Bronx residents, more than between 2007 and 2012. Figure 3 shows that the half (nearly 54 percent in 2011) are Hispanic, health care sector accounted for the largest share Latino or of Spanish origin. People of Puerto of the job gains (5,200 jobs). This sector is also Rican ancestry accounted for 22 percent of the the largest source of jobs in the borough. population in 2011. Figure 3 Foreign-born residents constituted one-third of the Jobs Gained and Lost in the Bronx borough’s population, and three-fourths of these 2007- 2012 Health Care residents were from Latin America and the Social Assistance Caribbean (primarily the Dominican Republic, Retail Trade Accommodation & Food Services Jamaica and Mexico). The number of Bronx Professional & Business Services residents who were born in Africa rose sharply Wholesale, Transport. & Warehousing Educational Services between 2007 and 2011 (by 37 percent), making All Other Financial Activities this group the second-largest immigrant group in Information the borough, representing 10 percent of the Manufacturing Construction -3,000 -2,000 -1,000 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 foreign-born population. Immigrants from Ghana 0 made up more than 40 percent of all African Number of Jobs immigrants in the Bronx. Sources: NYS Department of Labor; OSC analysis 2 Office of the State Comptroller The social assistance and retail trade sectors also Figure 5 showed strong job gains (3,640 jobs and Average Private Sector Salary in the Bronx (in 2012 dollars) 3,500 jobs, respectively). Job growth in 50 professional and business services was concentrated in administrative and support 45 services, while the gains in the accommodation 40 and food services sector were concentrated in restaurants, bars and catering. 35 Thousands of Dollars The accommodation and food services sector grew 30 the fastest (by 26 percent), followed by the 25 2011 professional and business services sector and the 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 social assistance sector (both by about 20 percent) Note: Salaries have been adjusted for inflation. and retail trade (by 15 percent). The construction, Sources: NYS Department of Labor; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; OSC analysis manufacturing, information and financial activities The average private sector salary in the Bronx sectors all lost jobs during this period. Particularly (after adjusting for inflation) has not changed hard-hit were the construction, manufacturing and much since 1990, and was $43,610 in 2012 (see information sectors, as each sector lost about Figure 5). Over the past few years the average 20 percent of its jobs between 2007 and 2012. salary has declined, reflecting the loss of relatively Together, the health care, retail trade and social higher-paying jobs in the construction, assistance sectors accounted for more than half of information and manufacturing sectors. all private sector jobs in the Bronx in 2012 (see The three highest average salaries were in Figure 4), with health care alone accounting for construction ($62,940), information ($61,350) and more than one-quarter of the jobs. Within the “All educational services ($55,910). In most cases, the Other” category in Figure 4, about two-thirds of average sector salary in the Bronx was similar to the jobs were in construction, manufacturing, and the averages in the other three outer boroughs, personal services (such as beauty and nail salons, with a few notable exceptions (see Figure 6). and dry cleaners). Figure 6 Figure 4 Average Salaries in 2012 Distribution of Bronx Private Sector Employment Construction 2012 Information Educational Services Professional & All Other Business 15% Health Care Services Wholesale, Transport. & Warehousing 6% Health Care 28% All Other Accommodation Manufacturing & Food Services 6% Financial Activities Professional & Business Services Financial Activities Social Assistance Bronx 6% Retail Trade Retail Trade Brooklyn, Queens and Educational 13% Staten Island Services Accommodation & Food Services 7% Wholesale, Transport.