New York City’s private sector shed roughly 30,000 jobs over a two-month span, according to a new report from City Comptroller Mark Levine, with the steepest losses concentrated in leisure and hospitality and in finance.
Levine wrote that employment growth “has hit a wall.” Leisure and hospitality alone lost 7,700 positions in September and is down 17,000 jobs over the past year despite what Levine described as a relatively strong tourism season. Finance, a sector that generates a large share of the city’s tax revenue, shrank by nearly 6,000 jobs in the same month. Excluding health care and social assistance, the city’s private sector overall is down about 32,000 positions compared with a year earlier. Levine called the figures “concerning” across the board.
The report lands as Mayor Zohran Mamdani continues to push a “tax the rich” agenda and expanded sanctuary-city measures, which business groups say are adding uncertainty for employers already contending with high operating costs.
Business owners describe rising costs
Business owners and industry leaders interviewed by the New York Post pointed to a mix of rising costs and city red tape as drivers of the job losses.
Sam Musovic, who owns a bar on the Upper East Side and immigrated from Montenegro after starting out as a dishwasher, told the Post that produce costs have doubled, egg prices have doubled, and rent has climbed.
“I mean, the American dream is kind of dying, unfortunately,” Musovic said.
Dan Kluger, the chef behind the now-closed Loring Place, cited real-estate taxes he called “unbearable,” insurance costs that spiked after COVID, Con Ed bills that rose from roughly $8,000 to more than $14,000 a month, and a 38 percent increase in health insurance costs this year.
Restaurant operator George Tenedios said city permitting now takes 10 to 15 weeks, up from roughly four weeks two years ago.
“If [Mayor Zohran] Mamdani put things in place to make things easier for small business owners, I haven’t experienced it,” Tenedios said.
Several owners told the Post that finished commercial spaces have sat empty for months while awaiting city approvals, delays they linked directly to stalled hiring.
Industry groups call for a shift in priorities
Heather Mulligan, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, said the new figures should prompt a change in direction.
“This recent data should be a wake-up call,” Mulligan said in a statement. “It’s time to ensure we’re creating a business climate in The Big Apple, and throughout the entire state, that allows business to invest, expand and create jobs, not lose them.”
The comptroller’s report does not draw a direct causal line between specific city policies and the job losses, but it arrives amid growing friction between City Hall and segments of the business community over taxes, regulation and permitting timelines.
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