Call it the city that never sleeps on the job — New York is poised to lead the nation out of the recession by putting almost 600,000 people back to work.
With unemployment in the Big Apple dropping every month for the past seven months — and now standing at 9.4 percent, below the national average — the city is poised to add 578,897 jobs in such industries as Wall Street, health care and entertainment, according to economics expert Richard Florida.
He says the reason is simple: The city isn’t a one-industry town.
“New York has a very diverse set of occupations,” said Florida. “It’s not like the steel industry in Pittsburgh or the auto industry in Detroit.”
Using figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics — covering 22 cities and more than 822 job categories — Florida predicted how many openings would be created in 2008-2018, based on the city’s current job mix.
For instance, many are tied to Wall Street and the entertainment industry — and he expects growth in both areas to explode.
Unemployment in the financial services industry has “never gone over 5 percent throughout the country,” Florida said.
Jobs in the health-care industry — such as home health aides — have weathered the recession better than most, he said.
In contrast, there has been up to a 20 percent jobless rate for male factory workers in the Midwest, labor statistics show. “The crisis is falling terribly unevenly on factory and production workers,” Florida said.
Florida is so optimistic about New York’s future that he has predicted it will lead the nation in job creation over the next eight years.
Los Angeles is expected to add 405,392 new jobs, and Chicago has the third-best future, with an additional 344,740 projected, according to his analysis.
Florida, founder of the consulting firm Creative Class Group, said the burst of employment in New York will be led by highly skilled professionals with college degrees in business, science, and engineering.
There will also be a strong demand for lower-end retail and food service positions, and Florida predicts there will be a slew of job openings in the entertainment industry, from ballet dancers to agents to stage designers and graphic artists.
“New York is a mecca for that,” Florida said, but warned that the employment improvement overall will be gradual.