NYBC Report: 2015 construction activity yielded $61 billion in total economic impact to NYC

New York, NY The benefits of New York City’s current building boom are reverberating throughout the local economy, generating an estimated $61 billion in total economic output in 2015 alone, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of multiple data sources. This represents a 7 percent increase from 2014, when the overall economic impact totaled $57 billion. The Building Congress estimates that a total of $39 billion was spent on construction projects throughout the five boroughs in 2015, and that this direct construction spending generated another $22 billion in ancillary business activity and increased consumer spending. This represents a multiplier effect of $1.56, as each dollar spent on construction yielded an additional $.56 in overall economic activity. Of the $22 billion, the Building Congress attributes $11.6 billion to the indirect impact of construction, which includes all employment and income generated by businesses that service the industry, such as architectural, engineering, legal, and other firms. The remaining $10.4 billion is attributable to the induced impact of construction, which is the result of workers and suppliers spending their wages on local consumer purchases, such a clothing, food, and transportation. Construction also played a role in the creation of more than 300,000 local jobs in 2015. In addition to the 181,000 men and women employed in the design, engineering, and construction industry, last year’s activity produced another 132,500 jobs throughout New York City’s economy. Approximately 70,000 jobs were created in fields that service the construction industry, such as lawyers, accountants, and suppliers. Still another 63,000 jobs were induced by the increased household earnings that resulted from direct construction and the related expansion of economic activity. The annual average salary for all direct, indirect, and induced employment was $84,000. “In addition to sowing the seeds for long-term economic growth, a healthy construction sector is a tried-and-true source of immediate economic stimulus for New York City,” said New York Building Congress president Richard Anderson. “Given that three-quarters of the construction labor force lives in the five boroughs, the ripple effects of all this spending and employment is enormous.”