NEW YORK CITY-Given the explosion of retail, restaurants and both residential and commercial construction in Kings County, it may come as no surprise—but is still well worth noting—that Brooklyn is the borough with the greatest job growth.
Brooklyn companies created almost half of the city's new jobs over the past 12 years, four times more than Manhattan and more than any other borough, according to a study by the Center for an Urban Future, released Thursday. The second and third place boroughs were Queens and the Bronx, the report notes.
The borough's jobs grew by 19% from 2000 to 2012, fueled by retail, health care, technology companies, design firms and manufacturers, Jonathan Bowles, the center's executive director, tells the Wall Street Journal, citing numbers from the New York state Department of Labor. More than 15% of the city's private jobs are now in Brooklyn, while Manhattan's share has dropped to 60% from 65% in the same period.
The job growth shift away from Manhattan and toward the outer boroughs is welcome news for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, which has worked to spread the employment wealth.
"The more we can spread business around the city, the more likely it is that we'll be able to attract different industries," explains Seth Pinsky, president of the city's Economic Development Corp., to the Journal.
Brooklyn has undergone a major expansion of its population, and therefore it has seen a big boost in the number of businesses in the borough, says Jonathan Bowles, CUF's executive director. "Look at a neighborhood like Dumbo. Prior to 2000, there weren't a lot of people living or working there. Now, you've got retail, tons of design companies, tech companies and restaurants. Neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint have seen such development and growth."
Job growth in the retail sector was particular strong, a trend which shows that the borough's offerings—and therefore jobs—are simply catching up to demand.
“We can't ignore that for many years Brooklyn was under-retailed,” says Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, in the Journal. “The retail offerings are beginning to match the demands of the borough." Recent additions to Brooklyn include Century 21, Uniqlo, Shake Shack and Whole Foods, which all have opened or announced plans for new stores there.
That migration beyond Manhattan is going to continue, says retail doyenne Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Douglas Elliman's retail group. "By the end of this year, we're going to see as many deals in the boroughs as all of Manhattan," she says. "I'm tracking the leases."
Clearly many businesses are heading to the boroughs, according to the Urban Future report.Since 2000, a total of 168,000 jobs have been created in the city, and Queens lays claim to 37,000 of those, the paper reports. The Bronx had 25,000, while Manhattan had 18,000. There were 5,000 in Staten Island.
Consolo tells GlobeSt.com that continued leasing growth is coming to the boroughs, in the same order as the job expansion. “In a couple of weeks, you will see a lot happening , first in Brooklyn, then Queens, followed by the Bronx and finally Staten Island,” she says, not even mentioning Manhattan.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
