The slowdown in job growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 isn’t the only sign that something is changing in the city’s economy. Consider these data points that emerged from a series of reports this week.
30%. Almost a third of January apartment leases in Manhattan involved concessions from the landlords, according to the latest report from Douglas Elliman. This signals weakening demand and rents that have risen too high for the market.
10%. Venture capital investments in New York declined that much in 2016, the first drop since 2009, according to the quarterly report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer. The final three months of the year marked the third consecutive quarterly drop.
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5. If five of the last six quarters, commercial leasing activity in the city has declined, according to the comptroller. This partly reflects the way companies are squeezing more people into less space than they used to, but shows either caution or leakage of jobs to lower-cost areas. Or both.
2.9%. Ridership on subways and buses in the city fell almost 3% in October and November compared with the same months in 2015, and Metro-North saw a decline as well, according to the comptroller’s report. Stringer speculates that some of the drop is attributable to Uber, but less economic activity is a more likely explanation.
In early March, the state Labor Department will announce revised employment and unemployment numbers for the last two years. These revisions are sometimes significant and are based on more extensive data. They will give the clearest read on what the economy did at the end of 2016.
In the meantime, not one of these statistics says that New York is entering a downturn, but together they do signal a significant slowdown.
The slowdown in job growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 isn’t the only sign that something is changing in the city’s economy. Consider these data points that emerged from a series of reports this week.
30%. Almost a third of January apartment leases in Manhattan involved concessions from the landlords, according to the latest report from Douglas Elliman. This signals weakening demand and rents that have risen too high for the market.
10%. Venture capital investments in New York declined that much in 2016, the first drop since 2009, according to the quarterly report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer. The final three months of the year marked the third consecutive quarterly drop.
5. If five of the last six quarters, commercial leasing activity in the city has declined, according to the comptroller. This partly reflects the way companies are squeezing more people into less space than they used to, but shows either caution or leakage of jobs to lower-cost areas. Or both.
2.9%. Ridership on subways and buses in the city fell almost 3% in October and November compared with the same months in 2015, and Metro-North saw a decline as well, according to the comptroller’s report. Stringer speculates that some of the drop is attributable to Uber, but less economic activity is a more likely explanation.
In early March, the state Labor Department will announce revised employment and unemployment numbers for the last two years. These revisions are sometimes significant and are based on more extensive data. They will give the clearest read on what the economy did at the end of 2016.
In the meantime, not one of these statistics says that New York is entering a downturn, but together they do signal a significant slowdown.
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