The average bonus paid to Wall Street employees shot up 15 percent last year to $164,000, the most since the economic collapse in 2008, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli reported Wednesday.
Profits for the industry actually fell 30 percent to $16.7 billion. But the workers took home $26.7 billion thanks to compensation they deferred from previous years DiNapoli said.
Wall Street has 165,200 workers, or 12.6% fewer than before the crisis. The industry generated about $3.8 billion in city taxes in fiscal 2013 and $10.3 billion in state taxes.
“Whatever anyone’s opinion of Wall Street, it is still an important part of the city’s economy,” said DiNapoli Speaking in Manhattan, in front of the Association for a Better New York, DiNapoli said the bump in bonuses will affect New York City’s budget in a positive way — with $100 million in unanticipated revenue.
Figures for fiscal 2012 —the most recent available — show the average Wall Street salary, including bonuses, was $360,7000, over five times greater than the rest of the private sector, DiNapoli said.