New York, NY – Securities industry profits rose dramatically in 2017 for the second consecutive year and
the average bonus paid to industry employees in New York City jumped 17 percent to reach $184,220 according to an estimate released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
“When Wall Street does well, the city and state benefit from higher tax revenues,” DiNapoli said. “The large increase in profitability over the past two years demonstrates that the industry can prosper with the regulations and consumer protections adopted after the financial crisis.”
Pretax profits for the broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms soared by 42 percent in 2017 after increasing by 21 percent in 2016. Profits totaled $24.5 billion in 2017, the highest level since 2010, driven by higher revenue.
After adding jobs for three consecutive years, employment in New York City’s securities industry dipped slightly in 2017, averaging 176,900 jobs. Despite recent gains, employment in the securities industry in the city is still 6 percent smaller than before the financial crisis in 2007, while the rest of the private sector in the city has grown by 23 percent.
The industry remains a key component of the city’s economy. The industry accounted for less than 5 percent of the private sector jobs in the city in 2016, but it generated more than one-fifth of all private sector wages paid in the city. Nearly 1 in 10 jobs in the city are either directly or indirectly associated with the securities industry.
