The New York Building Industry
The New York City building industry encompasses all of the men and women who design, construct, maintain and manage the buildings and physical infrastructure that sustain New York – from the top of the Empire State building to the water tunnels deep beneath the City’s streets.
Like no other sector of the economy, the benefits of a productive building industry are felt long after the work is complete, often generations later. From infrastructure expansion programs to development projects, the industry’s work produces more than a tangible short-term boost to the region. It also creates stronger communities, heightened quality of life and a greater capacity for the City to grow its population, its workforce and its economy.
The construction sector alone encompasses construction managers, heavy contractors, general contractors, skilled crafts persons an specialized trades, including plumbing, electrical, masonry, carpentry, structural steel, painting and excavation. Design and building-related services are provided by architects and engineers and building maintenance service personnel. The real estate sector includes owners, lessors, agents, managers, title officers and developers.
A New York Fundamental with a Reach that is Far and Wide
With annual gross revenues of more than $60 billion, the design, construction and real estate sectors combined represent New York City’s second biggest industry, trailing only healthcare.
Moreover, the industry is unique in that its reach extends to every borough, neighborhood and City street. From home and office renovations to City shaping projects such as the World Trade Center and Atlantic Yards, to invisible yet massive undertakings such as construction of a third water tunnel, the building industry covers nearly every inch of the City, working daily to create a stronger, more vibrant and more livable New York.
Perpetual Motion: An Industry that Never Sleeps
The building industry is essential to the City’s ongoing and future prosperity. Led by a wide range of associations, and in partnership with government and the business and civic community, the industry is constantly working not only to maintain a modern, well-functioning physical environment but also to accommodate future growth and improve overall quality of life.
Not satisfied with designing, constructing and maintaining the City’s built environment, the industry is also a tireless advocate of infrastructure investment and economic development. As a result, the industry’s workforce – whether through the initiatives of associations, unions, or individual firms – is at the forefront of efforts to build better schools, fund the next generation of transit expansions, increase housing stock and invest in vital facilities such as water treatment plants, power generating stations, hospitals, universities and entertainment and cultural landmarks.
Giving Back
It is hard to find a community of people more devoted to public service and civic responsibility than the building industry. The industry’s men and women spend their careers shaping and maintaining the City’s physical form. It should come as no surprise, then, that so many of its leaders can be found among the boards of directors of New York’s most important philanthropic, healthcare, cultural and educational institutions.
- Through industry-led organizations such as the ACE Mentor Program,Construction Skills 2000 and the Salvadori Center, educational opportunities are provided to disadvantaged children.
- Through relationships with many charities, and the New York Building Foundation, the expertise and resources of the industry are put to work on behalf of those in need.
- Through a tradition of significantly supporting charities such as the March of Dimes, the Boy Scouts of Greater New York, and American ORT, to name a few, the industry’s contributions are truly incalculable.
- When disaster strikes, whether inside the City, such as at the World Trade Center site, or across the nation, such as in New Orleans, members of the building industry are among the first to lend professional expertise and financial support.
Building A Stronger Economy
The recession that hit New York City in 2000 was exacerbated by the September 11 attacks in 2001. New York City lost thousands of jobsand the local government grappled with unprecedented budget deficits.
In the midst of the economic downturn, New York City’s building industry remained strong, countering the region’s recession and buoying the local economy by creating much-needed jobs, tax revenues and stimulating further development. And a strong industry was there to greet the recovery and help expand it further.
Today, the industry remains vital and is one of the keys to the City’s economic future.
Jobs
- In 2005, the industry accounted for more than 275,000 private sector jobs at approximately 31,500 firms.
- The total construction sector workforce, the largest employer in the industry, was last measured in 2005 at 123,200.
- The real estate sector accounts for about 90,300 additional jobs annually.
- Building services represent 31,500 jobs on average.
- Architectural and engineering services account for an average of 31,600 jobs.
- Not included in the industry’s workforce are another 30,000 construction workers employed by a wide array of non-construction firms and organizations involved in such fields as transportation, education, manufacturing and utilities, government and the Armed Forces
Industry Earnings
- On an annual basis, New York City building industry payrolls amount to nearly $14 billion.
- Heavy and civil construction reports the highest average annual wage at $68,900.
- Architectural and engineering services report the next highest wage at $68,000.
- Real estate workers earn $47,600 annually.
- Building service workers earn an average of $32,800.
Industry Spending and Revenue
- While the building industry accounts for eight percent of the City’s 3.6 million jobs, its contribution to Gross City Product (GCP) is considerably greater.
- Gross revenue for the entire industry exceeds $60 billion annually.
- The building industry represents about 25 percent of the GCP, if the rental value of owner occupied premises is included.
- Construction work alone, the largest sector in the industry, accounted for $27.4 billion of economic activity in New York City in 2005 (including payments to subcontractors).
- Real estate leasing and property management accounted for $25.9 billion of economic activity for New York City in 2005.
Indirect Impacts
- For each dollar of production by construction, real estate, design or building service sectors, an additional $0.50 on average is created in other City industries that purchase from or supply the various sectors. Thus, the $60.8 billion industry, as measured by gross revenues, actually stimulated nearly $90 billion of economic output in 2005.
- For each dollar of earnings paid to building industry employees, from $0.40 to $1.00 of additional earnings is paid to employees of other New York City industries.
- The $13.3 billion in earnings paid to building industry employees stimulated $21.7 billion of earnings in the New York City economy.
- Roughly 435,000 jobs were created throughout the City economy as a result of the direct and indirect effects of building industry efforts. Indirect jobs include those in law, accounting, concrete production, fabrication, catering, transportation, and consumer good sales to families of construction workers.
Growing Diversity
Two of the greatest and least understood legacies of the building industry are its diversity and its uniquely positive impact onNewYork’s social fabric. The industry overwhelmingly employs New York City residents, thus providing living incomes and stability to families throughout thefive boroughs. In addition, it is one of the few remaining industries that still provides decent, middle-income jobs andadvancement opportunities for all NewYorkers, regardless of their race, educational or ethnic background. In this respect, the building industry remains NewYork City’s quintessential melting pot.
Place of Residence
- Three in every four building industry workers both live and work in New York City, including 72 percent of construction workers.
- Queens and Brooklyn house most of the City’s construction workers, while Manhattan accounts for the largest number of real estate workers.
- Building service workers are heavily concentrated in Staten Island, followed by Queens.
Workforce
- The building industry workforce is 88 percent male (12 percent of all working NewYork City males), 12 percent female (2 percent of female workers in New York City).
- Approximately 83 percent of women in the industry are employed in white-collar jobs.
- Approximately 62 percent of the male workforce occupies blue-collar jobs.
- Minority workers hold the majority of building industry jobs.
- Minority workers hold two in every three bluecollar jobs, while white males account for 34 percent of all blue-collar jobs.
- The building industry provides7 percent of all jobs for minority workers and 8 percent for white workers.
- the building industry provides 8 percent of all jobs for Hispanic workers, and 6 percent for both African- American and Asian workers.
Foreign Born
- 47 percent of all New York City building industry workers were born abroad.
- Immigrants make up 64 percent of the building service sector and 48 percent of the construction sector.
- 69 percent of industry workers who arrived in the United States in the 1970s are now citizens, as are 44 percent who arrived in the 1980s, while only 14 percent of those who arrived in the 1990s have attained citizenship.
Age
- Most employees of the NewYork City building industry range in age from 30 to 50 years.
- The peak age group 35 to 39 has the largest proportion of workers.
- The average age of today’s construction worker is 40.Ten years ago, the average age for a unionized construction worker was 51.
- More than half of all architects and engineers are under 40 years of age.
Education
- Roughly one half of all building industry workers have attended college, with nearly one quarter having graduated or matriculated further.
- College attendance rates are highest for architects and engineers, with 92 percent of all design workers having some college or completing a degree program, followed by real estate workers with 55 percent.
- 38 percent of construction workers have attended college, 13 percent of whom graduated, while 26 percent of building service workers attended college, with only 7 percent graduating.
- Among the 53 percent of all building industry workers without any college education, at least 36 percent graduated from high school and only 2 percent report no formal education.
Union Labor
- Over half of all construction workers residing in New York City are union members (Census Bureau 2005).
- Average weekly earnings of union workers are 125 percent of non-union construction workers.
- With 52 percent of the workforce, union participation is similarly high in building services.
- City construction and building service workers are four to five times more unionized than their national counterparts (at13 percent and 11percent nationally), while those in design and real estate are two to e ight times more unionized than the national average(at 9 percent and 4 percent respectively).
With the City in the midst of robust construction activity and multiple large-scale projects in the offing, the influence and impact of design, construction and real estate is expected to be particularly strong over the next several years and beyond. Following are just a few examples of ongoing and proposed projects and related benefits NewYork City can expect in the years and decades to come. New Stadiums for the New York Yankees and Mets Baseball Teams AtlanticYards Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel World Trade Center Foundation for Success The work of the combined design, construction, and real estate industry is comprehensive, complex and vital; much like New York City itself. But that is only one part of its importance and its relevance. The economic impact, workforce diversity, charitable contributions and quality of life enhancements tied to the industry’s many sectors, make it significant not only to the progress of the City’s built environment, but to the mix of talent, backgrounds and income that make the metropolitan region so attractive and so successful. New York Bedrock: The New York City Building Industry was prepared with the assistance of Urbanomics on behalf of the New York Building Congress and the New York Building Foundation.
HudsonYards
