RESEARCH REPORT
How Has New York’s Workforce Changed Post-COVID? By Oren M. Levin-Waldman1
W
Workforce Decline 2019-2015
e are only just now realizing the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. economy. The nature of work was effectively changed from 2020 on as more and more people, assuming they were able to, continued to work remotely from home. For those who could not work remotely, many lost their jobs as the economies in many states were locked down. As the economy then began to reopen, inflation spiked — largely due to supply chain disruptions and increased demand. Increased demand following lockdowns where people weren’t purchasing goods and services, only fueled further price hikes.
In 2019, the U.S. had 164 to 165 million workers in the workforce, and New York had a workforce of 10.2 million. In 2021, which marks the end of the pandemic, the U.S. had a workforce of 161 to 162 million, and New York had a workforce of 9.8 million. The U.S. labor force declined by 1.8 percent, but the New York labor force declined by 3.9. The decrease was 116.7 percent greater in New York than in the U.S. By 2025, the U.S. had a labor force of 170.7 million, an increase of 5.4 to 6.0 percent. New York, however, had a labor force of 9.86 million, which was an increase of .6 percent from the end of the pandemic. Whereas the overall labor force in the U.S. increased 3.5 to 4.1 percent from 2019 to 2025, it declined by 3.3 percent in New York. The greatest losses due to the pandemic were in Leisure and Hospitality, followed by Professional Services. By 2022, employment in New York in information, professional/technical services, and finance had exceeded their 2019 levels. Leisure and hospitality, on the other hand, even after rebounding 19 percent in 2022 remained 10 percent below their 2019 levels.
In this article, I look at the New York State economy and workforce from 2019 to 2025 using both data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and Aura Intelligence, a workforce development company. Much has changed during this period. Effective lockdowns beginning in 2020 would last until the end of the pandemic in 2021. Because of social distancing, many in the hospitality and tourism sector lost their jobs. Those in the professions, especially in finance and information technology, were able to work remotely, while “essential” workers were not. Essential workers, of course, included healthcare workers, police and firefighters, but they also included grocery workers, store clerks, gas attendants and mechanics, hardware store workers, and other sales workers in those businesses allowed to remain open.
Sectoral Shifts and Firm Level Trends Data from Aura Intel of top hiring firms from 2019 until 2024, shows that some firms increased their share of workers while others decreased their share. The following graph shows the trends among the top hiring firms in New York for this period.
In the end, New York State suffered a workforce loss greater than the U.S. average, and the rebound from 2021 until 2025 was considerably less than in the rest of the country. Despite the rebound, New York State, and especially New York City, have the highest levels of inequality. Although household income inequality rose in the U.S., it rose more in New York City than the rest of the state and the country. As many now are talking “affordability” in the wake of the 2025 elections, especially in New York City, this is not a trivial issue. Still, with regards to the labor market and workforce development, data from Aura Intelligence specifically suggests that the wave of the future lies in high tech and the information sector, and a workforce grounded in digital literacy. And yet, even that suggestion in 2025 may be challenged given AI-induced layoffs occurring in the tech sector.
Still, these firms can be grouped to include Professional Services, Technology, and the financial services. As the following pie chart shows, the greatest percentage losses in the share of workers was the Financial Sector followed by the Insurance sector, which in this chart only consists of one firm: AIG. The other sector that saw a sizeable decrease in its share of workers was retail. Meanwhile, there were sizeable gains among specific firms which can be seen in the following chart: The biggest winners were in the technology sector. The share of workers at Amazon increased by 82.9 percent, mostly due to customers purchasing more goods online during COVID. Google increased its share of workers by 28.2 percent. Schools and 12
rate in 2019 was 3.5 percent, and then rose to 5.35 percent in 2021, an increase of 52.9 percent, compared to an increase of 72.5 percent in New York. Although the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in 2022, it crept back up to 4.2 percent in 2025, which is now equal to New York State. If the main recovery was from 2021 to 2022, unemployment in New York was still 19.4 percent higher than in the U.S.
PercentageLosses 2019-2024
Income Inequality and Median Wages Despite the pandemic, median household income, according to data from the CPS, rose in both New York and the U.S., but the increase was greater in New York than in the U.S. In 2019, median household income in New York City, the State and the U.S. was $67,032, $81,297, and 77,000 respectively. In 2021, it was $71,016 in NYC; $88,252 in NYS, and $81,900 in the U.S. From 2019 until 2021, median household income increased by 5.99 percent in NYC; 8.6 percent in NYS; and 6.4 percent in the U.S. In 2022, median household income was $70,951 in NYC; $92,076 in NYS; and $86,552 in the U.S. Between 2021 and 2022, when people started to get vaccinated and 2022 when the economy was opening up, median household income decreased by .5 percent in NYC, but increased by 4.3 percent in NYS and by 5.7 percent in the U.S. By 2024, median household income was $86,904 in NYC; $100521 in NYS; and $99, 282 in the U.S. So, between 2019 and 2024, median income increased by 29.6 percent in New York City; 23.6 percent in New York State, and 21.2 percent in the U.S. Although median household income in New York City was less than in the rest of the state and the country, it increased by 26.7 percent more than in New York State, and by 39.6 percent more than in the U.S. The cost of living is higher in New York than in the rest of the country, but by the composition of New York’s workforce many workers were able to work remotely, which would have sustained their incomes.
colleges began synchronous instruction online during the pandemic, and higher education grew. Despite the losses in the financial sector, American Express did increase its share of workers by 9.5 percent. In the healthcare sector, the greatest winner was Northwell.
Median wages in New York for courier services were $17 to 18 an hour, with warehouse workers averaging $35 to 40,000 a year. Software engineers earned $120,000 and management consultants earned $100,000. Meanwhile, with median wages for registered nurses and mental health counselors are $77,000 and $50,000 respectively. Also, pilots were making at least $90,000 a year. Still, there was more household income inequality in New York, especially in NYC, than in the U.S.
Economic Recovery and Unemployment The pandemic hit New York especially hard. Unemployment in New York averaged 6.9 percent in 2021 but declined to 4.3 percent in 2022 and remained at 4.2 percent in March 2025. Still, the unemployment rate in 2019 was only 4.0. The recovery, then, suggests a decline in unemployment of 39.1 percent, but unemployment still stands 5 percent higher than in 2019. Whereas unemployment in the U.S. in April 2020 was 14.7 percent, it was 16 percent in New York State, a difference of 8.8 percent. Although by 2021 jobs were gradually rebounding, they still lagged in New York. By December 2021 New York’s private sector remained 8 percent below its February 2020 level. Full recovery in New York did not occur until early 2024 when private employment reached an all-time high of 8.346 million. The U.S. unemployment
Although household income inequality decreased between 2019 and 2024, it was higher in New York State than the rest of the country and higher still in New York City. In 2019, household income inequality in NYC was 23.1 percent higher than in NYS and 44.4 percent higher in NYC than in the U.S. on the 90/10 percent ratio. On the top-to-bottom quintile measure it was 23.2 percent higher than in NYS and 42.5 percent higher than in the 13
Household Income Inequality NYC
NYS
US
90/10
90/50
50/10
Top-tobottom quintile
90/10
90/50
50/10
Top-tobottom quintile
90/10
90/50
50/10
Top-tobottom quintile
2019
14.9
3.3
4.5
19.1
12.1
3.0
4.0
15.5
10.1
2.6
3.8
13.4
2020
13.2
3.0
4.4
20.3
12.5
2.8
4.4
17.0
9.8
2.6
3.7
13.2
2021
15.5
3.2
4.9
20.3
13.3
2.9
4.6
16.6
10.7
2.7
3.9
14.1
2022
18.4
3.3
5.6
25.9
14.0
2.9
4.9
18.7
10.9
2.7
4.0
14.5
2023
14.6
2.9
5.1
20.7
12.4
2.7
4.6
16.1
10.1
2.7
3.8
14.0
2024
13.7
3.2
4.3
19.0
11.1
2.8
3.9
15.0
10.1
2.6
3.8
13.4
% Change
-8.1
-3.0
-4.4
-.5
-8.3
-6.7
-2.5
-3.2
0
0
0
0
Source: Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, Daniel Backman, Etienne Breton, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, David Van Riper, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS CPS: Version 13.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi. org/10.18128/D030.V13.0, years 2019-2024.
U.S. From 2019 before the pandemic until the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 income inequality on the 90/10 measure decreased by 11.4 percent in NYC and by 3 percent in the U.S., but it increased by 3.3 percent in NYS. What happens between 2020 and the end of the pandemic in 2020 becomes informative. On the 90/10 measure, household income inequality increased by 39.4 percent in the NYC and only 12 percent in NYS and 11.2 percent in the U.S.
income of the bottom decreased by 4 percent while the average income of the top increased by 6 percent. Overall, however, the mean of the bottom increased by 17.4 percent more in NYS. There was practically no difference in NYC. The mean of the top in the U.S. actually increased by 2.2 percent more than the mean of the bottom
Remote Work and Skills Demand
Income inequality in NYC increased more than elsewhere precisely because the average income of the top quintile increased by a higher percentage than average income of the bottom quintile.2
Remote workers in white-collar jobs were less likely to be negatively affected by shutdowns, and many of those sectors retained workers, and even increased employment by shifting to telework. In 2019, only about 5 to 6 percent of American workers worked remotely. At the height of the lockdowns in 2020, 50-60 percent of work was being done remotely. Much of this work was being done in tech, finance, and professional services. The national rate of remote work in 2021 was 17.9 percent, which was triple what it was at 5.7 percent in 2019. 22 percent of workers in New York City were working remotely in 2021. By 2021, 30 to 50 percent of workers in professional services, information, and financial/ insurance were working remotely. Although some workers began returning to their offices in 2021 through 2022, remote work remains above pre-2020 levels. As of 2024, on-site work in major cities is only 50-65 percent of pre-COVID levels. In New York City, for example, office occupancy in November 2024 was around 64 percent, which was 55 percent above the rest of the country.
Whereas mean household income of the top increased between 2020 and 2022 by 3.3 percent in NYC, it decreased by 19.1 percent among the bottom. In NYS, the average income of the bottom only decreased by 3.6 percent while the average income of the top increased by 5.8 percent. And in the U.S., the average
Since the beginning of the pandemic, companies have placed greater emphasis on soft skills and adaptability. As a result of remote/hybrid, workers must be good at self-motivation, time management, and virtual teamwork. Job listings from 2022 to 2025 typically cite skills like independent problem-solving,
The 90/50 percentile ratio is also important because it suggests, in New York State, and more so in New York City, the top pulling away from the middle. This appears to be less the case in the U.S. Between 2000 and 2020, inequality on this measure increased by 27.3 percent in NYC and by 7.1 percent in NYS. It only increased by 3.8 percent in the U.S. So, there was considerably more pulling away in NYC. In recent years, inequality has been noted to be problematic because of the top pulling away from the middle. It should be noted that as much as income inequality is a permanent feature of a capitalist economy, it is rising inequality that is particularly problematic because it signifies the disappearance of the middle class.
14
NYC
NYS
U.S.
Mean of bottom quintile
Mean of top quintile
Mean of bottom quintile
Mean of top quintile
Mean of bottom quintile
Mean of top quintile
2019
14,546
277,136
19,349
300,260
19,140
255,713
2020
14,906
302,025
18,505
315,502
21,354
280,747
2021
13,710
278,931
18,508
307,771
19,947
280,782
2022
12,065
311,917
17,830
333,854
20,506
297,508
2023
14,485
300,045
19918,
320,896
22,202
311,580
2024
19,297
367,490
24,446
367,456
24,410
327,591
% Change
+32.7
+32.6
+26.3
+22.4
+27.5
+28.1
Source: Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, Daniel Backman, Etienne Breton, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, David Van Riper, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS CPS: Version 13.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi. org/10.18128/D030.V13.0, years 2019-2024.
flexibility, and collaboration. Emotional intelligence and customer service skills still are important, but soft skills have evolved from when they referred to employees being able to come to work on time, take directions, get along with others, and otherwise act responsibly. In New York where a high proportion of the workforce, relative to the rest of the country, hold advanced degrees, there is a move towards greater skills-based hiring. By 2025, employers are hiring based on specific skills competencies. Major companies like Google, Apple and IBM have eliminated degree requirements for many jobs; rather they are looking for demonstrated coding ability and design skills.
this “digital upskilling,” the workforce is faced with a challenge because 1 in 3 workers in the U.S. lack foundational digital skills. The policy implications for workforce development, I think, could not be clearer. Schools need to improve their K-12 curricula so that workers will indeed have the foundational digital skills for today’s workforce. Public education needs to be retooled to ensure a well-prepared labor force for the industries of the future. Therefore, investment in digital upskilling at both the K-12 and higher education levels is required. More employers need to offer on-the-job training so that their workers will have the exact skills that they require. Policies might be adopted that offer tax credits to employers offering such training to a wider swath of employees. As New York develops a competitive labor force, new firms in turn will be attracted to replace those that have left. In short, this requires revisiting an old public-private partnership whereby the private sector creates jobs through investments, and the public sector delivers a skilled workforce prepared to work in new industries.3
Given the trends that we saw earlier on, we can expect the financial sector to decline more, while retail that is technologybased, will increase. Among top hiring firms, some will be larger while others will be smaller. Those that are expected to grow the most are those who rely heavily on a digitized literate workforce.
Policy Implications Doors have now been opened to job candidates who can either gain skills through bootcamps or on-the -job training. This would also suggest an advantage for firms offering on-the-job training to new recruits, who in turn will develop employer-specific skills. Employers now expect workers to possess basics to advance digital literacy. Aura Intel discovered that of the millions of job listings in 2023, 92% required at least some digital skills. This requirement appears to span industries from construction to tech. Even the non-traditional non-digital jobs like warehouse workers and retail associates often require the use of apps, pointof-sale systems, or office software. Workers able to use digital tools like Excel and Zoom, and other such software are receiving priority in hiring. It was the pandemic in the face of lockdowns that forced the adoption of remote collaboration tools, such as e-commerce, telehealth, automation, among others. And yet, with
Conclusion Clearly, COVID had a dramatic impact on the workforce and arguably on the very nature of work in New York. Between 2020 and 2022, there were significant job decreases in Leisure and Hospitality, Professional and Financial Services. And yet, there were big increases in the information sector, which is where opportunities in the future lie. The key conclusion, it seems to me, is that a workforce that has digital skills can expect to have opportunity and do well. What isn’t clear however but needs to be explored is the extent to which there is overlap. As an example, does what used to be professional and financial services now fall into the domain of information technology because of new digital literacy requirements? Nevertheless, as employers are more likely to hire those with skills, especially in digital literacy, public policy 15
in New York can be geared to make the state’s workforce more competitive, especially if further investments are made more in digital literacy-based education. At the same time, household income inequality is higher in New York City than in the rest of the country. Insofar as firms continue laying off workers due to AI, inequality can be expected to get worse. As that happens, both the state and the city may become less affordable. Far more effort to attract middle- class, job-creating investment back to both New York State and New York City is ever more essential.
Oren Levin-Waldman is a Research Scholar at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Most recently he has been on the faculty in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also on the editorial board of Regional Labor Review. This is an excerpt from his forthcoming book: The Economic Roots of Political Polarization in the United States: How Ideological Differences are Driven by Economics (Bloomsbury, 2026). REGIONAL LABOR REVIEW, vol. 28, no. 1 (Fall 2025). © 2025 Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy, Hofstra University
NOTES 1 An earlier version of this article, “New York’s Workforce: Much
has Changed in Six Years” was published The Aura Newsletter (August 4,2025): New York’s Workforce: Much has Changed in Six Years | LinkedIn. 2 G ottschalk, Peter. 1997. “Inequality, Income Growth and Mobility: The Basic Facts.” Journal of Economic Perspectives. 11,2 (Spring):21-40. 3 O’Connor, James. 1973. The Fiscal Crisis of the State. NY: St. Martin’s Press.
16