DiNapoli: Wall St. Woes May Cost 225,000 Jobs

ALBANY-New York City and New York State could lose as many as 225,000 jobs and $6.5 billion in tax revenue to Wall Street turmoil over the next two years, according to a report released Monday by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The two-year job loss total includes 175,000 positions in New York City, or 10,000 more than city comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. forecast in August.

Citing figures that put 2008 on pace to be “one of the worst years ever” for Wall Street, DiNapoli says in a statement, “These numbers are translating into job losses. The securities industry in New York City has lost more than 16,000 jobs and the industry could lose a total of 38,000 jobs by next October, with another 10,000 jobs lost in banking, insurance and real estate. And those job losses translate into more job losses in other industries.”

The report points to the “multiplier effect” that financial sector job losses have on employment in other industries. DiNapoli estimates that for each financial sector job lost, two more jobs will be lost in other industries in New York City and 1.3 jobs will be lost elsewhere in the state.