The number of Queens residents working office jobs in Manhattan dropped in just over two decades, according to a new report by the City Comptroller’s office.
The report, “Who Works in Manhattan’s Office Buildings?,” released Wednesday, showed that from 1990 to 2012 the number went from 170,000 to 141,000, a 17 percent decline.
With 85 percent of the city’s office space in Manhattan, the report found there were in total 1,203,000 office workers in Manhattan in 2012.
Not surprisingly, more people in 1990 and 2012 were living and working in the same borough and saw an increase in that 22-year period. Brooklyn saw an increase in residents working in Manhattan as well, from 192,000 to 198,000. But the city’s other two boroughs, the Bronx and Staten Island experienced a drop, as did Long Island.
“Contrary to the widespread impression that there has been a massive ‘return to the city’ of professionals, the number of Manhattan office workers who actually live in New York City fell slightly between 1990 and 2012. In 2012, about 70 percent of Manhattan office workers lived in the city, compared to 71 percent in 1990,” the report said.
Other characteristics of Manhattan office workers the report looked at included salaries and demographics.
The salary gap between Manhattan office employees and non-office workers grew significantly from 1990 to 2012, from an average of about $41,200, compared to the average income of $23,600 for Manhattan workers who did not work in offices. “By 2012, that 75 percent earnings differential had widened to 110 percent, as the average office worker salary rose to $100,900,” the report said.
Though there was a decline in the representation of African-Americans in Manhattan’s office workforce, from 15 percent of the office workforce in 1990 to 12 percent in 2012, the percentage of Hispanics increased from 9.9 percent to 12.2 percent in that same period. The report also showed, however, that Hispanic New Yorkers are the demographic least likely to work in Manhattan offices, according to the comptroller’s office.
The report also examined how many hours officer workers are putting in at the office. The average work week increased from 40.2 hours in 1990 to 43.6 hours by 2012.
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