9/6/2016
By Ivan Pereira
Lower Manhattan’s economy has bounced back to the point where private sector employment is at the highest level since 9/11, according to a report released Tuesday.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office said there were 228,300 jobs in the area below Chambers Street in 2015, a 14,900 increase from the second quarter of 2002. DiNapoli credited the increase to the growing number of new residents and industries that are discovering the new and improved area.
“It is very very clear that this neighborhood has rebounded and rebuilt,” he said.
DiNapoli’s report emphasized the increased business diversity in the area. Back in 2000 finance made up 56% of the jobs in lower Manhattan, but only 24% 15 years later.
Media companies, like Condé Nast and Time Inc., and business services like accounting and marketing making up the difference.
John Barker said he moved his advertising firm Barker from SoHo to Broad Street in 2013 because of the area’s advantages when it came to transportation and creative talent.
“There was never really any confusion where we wanted to be,” he said. “It was a no-brainer.”
Here are other statistics from the report.
The residental population of the area doubled from 22,700 in 2000 to 49,000 in 2014.
About 40% of the population has a graduate degree.
Business services are the second largest employment sector with 68,900 jobs.
The number of health and home-care jobs tripled since 2000, and there are now 24,100 people employed in that sector downtown.
Of the nearly 15 million square feet of office space lost in 2001, more than 9 million has been recovered as of 2015.
