Staten Island Adds 2,500 Jobs

From June of 2012 to June of 2013, State Island saw an employment gain of 3.1 percent due to the 2,500 jobs created, according to the Staten Island Advance. This was the largest growth of jobs in the state of New York for the time period.

“Staten Island’s employment gain was by far the highest in the state,” said Lisa Boily, senior economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “This is a growth story for Staten Island.”

Salaries in the borough increased by 2.2 percent, slightly above the national average of 2.1 percent. Of the jobs gained in Staten Island, 1,229 of those came in the construction industry.

“There was a small increase in heavy and civil engineering construction, which includes road work, but most of the construction job growth was in the ‘specialty trades contractors’ sector, with over 1,000 jobs created. This includes roofers, electricians, etc…,” Boily said.

James Oddo, the president of the borough, said that some of the growth in construction could be due to work performed after Hurricane Sandy. He thinks this industry will grow more over the next year since the North Shore corridor will be redeveloped.

“We have a billion dollars slated toward private investment for the North Shore corridor, for just four projects, and I’m quite positive that will spur additional economic development,” said Oddo.

“I think this is good news (the reported employment growth), but I think there is even better news coming down the pike.”

There were 607 jobs created in education and health and 466 jobs created in the professional and business industry.

“Most of the job growth in the education and health sector was in the health care and social assistance piece, which includes (hires at) hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, etc…,” Boily said.

There was a decrease in jobs for the industry of ambulatory health care.

“While we are happy anytime there is economic growth, we caution against celebrating too soon by pointing to two statistics: Our average weekly wages still remain low compared to the other counties, and the total employment figure of 95,000 is down from Staten Island’s once all-time high of 105,000 jobs,” said Cesar J. Claro, president and CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation.

“When we get back to 105,000 jobs on Staten Island and a higher weekly wage, that’s when we will celebrate.”