Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Report: NYC Will End 2020 With 500,000 Fewer Jobs
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Jul 1, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Mark Lennihan/AP/Shutterstock
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Jul 1, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Despite the phased reopening plan that is returning many New Yorkers to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report released this week found that the city still may lose half a million jobs by the end of 2020.
According to the report from the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, the city may have 500,000 to 600,000 fewer jobs compared to the beginning of this year. About half of the jobs lost would be in face-to-face industries, like restaurants, retail, neighborhood services, and arts and entertainment. Another 150,000 would come from essential and remote industries, and 100,000 to 150,000 would be independent contract work. Before the global pandemic, the city was home to more than 4 million jobs.
Various factors affect the projections—like federal action and the public health crisis—so the "damage could also be greater," the report says.
With New York City in the middle of its reopening, with Phase 3 expected July 6th, the authors wrote "there is genuine reason for a glimmer of optimism." But the economic downturn continues and recovery in face-to-face industries will be slow.
"This downtown is dramatically different from what people usually think of as an economic downturn that are caused by recessions," the report's co-author, economist James Parrott, told Gothamist.
"My sense is that the severity of the economic situation is going to become so apparent in the coming weeks—and we're really seeing that now in terms of many of the states that thought they were going to be able to reopen now are seeing tremendous increases in the number of COVID-19 cases and are rethinking, and some are pulling back from their reopening plans and so on," Parrott added.
The job losses sparked an uptick in the unemployment rate to 18.3 percent, but the report says that tally "seriously understates the true extent of unemployment" since some workers who are no longer working and not actively seeking another job are not officially counted.
"Adding these workers back into the unemployment rate estimate would result in a 26 percent New York City unemployment rate for May," Parrott and his co-author Lina Moe wrote.
A total of 1.25 million people lost jobs between February and May in NYC, the report estimates. 892,000 of those jobs were payroll jobs, not including independent contractors. Based on state Department of Labor data through May 30th, 736,100 independent workers had filed for pandemic unemployment assistance, an unemployment program expanded under the CARES Act to freelancers and gig workers, who faced weeks of waiting for their checks to arrive. The authors of the report estimate 333,000 of those independent workers were in New York City.
Unemployed workers were mostly in the Bronx, the report found, citing the state Department of Labor.
The borough had 21.6 percent unemployment in May. That compares to 19.9 percent in Queens, 18.2 percent in Brooklyn, 16.5 percent in Staten Island, and 13.7 percent in Manhattan.
The face-to-face industries where most of the lay-offs happened are also largely low-paying.
About 41 percent of face-to-face workers make less than $20,000 a year. More than one-quarter make between $20,000 and $40,000.
"This impact is mainly not affecting high-income people—professionals, managers, tech people, who still have their jobs and their benefits, their businesses are still profitable. Some are more profitable than before, like Amazon," Parrott said.
"Parts of the economy are being hammered out of existence. A lot of restaurant will fold. It's a very uneven economic impact," Parrott said. "I think it's that unevenness, which helps account for the lack of effective response by policy makers."
In the report, the authors recommended additional assistance for small businesses, federal support for jobs programs, and fiscal relief for city and state governments.
They also say Congress should extend the $600 weekly boost under the CARES Act set to expire at the end of July. Undocumented workers—an estimated 200,000 of whom are out of work—who've "fallen through the cracks" also need economic assistance. Those workers do not qualify for unemployment and did not receive federal help under the CARES Act.
Tagged
COVID-19
coronavirus
the rent is too damn high
fiscal crisis
recession
Sydney Pereira
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
'Yes, this does suck': NYC health officials brace for new Medicaid work rules
The new city budget includes $3M for hiring community health workers to help people navigate the changes.
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jul 6, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
One of the Bronx's oldest subway stations gets a $123M makeover after years of delays
South Bronx locals said the MTA's renovation at the 149th Street-Grand Concourse subway station is long overdue.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
One of the Bronx's oldest subway stations gets a $123M makeover after years of delays
South Bronx locals said the MTA's renovation at the 149th Street-Grand Concourse subway station is long overdue.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
NYC Legionella inspections rose only gradually before latest Legionnaires' cluster in Manhattan
By
Joe Hong
Sea plane makes hard landing into the East River Sunday afternoon
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Separate shootings in Coney Island, Crown Heights cap July Fourth Celebrations
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .