There has been some growth in middle income jobs, e.g., New York City has gained 75,000 jobs in media, entertainment, computers and professional services betweem1992 and 1998. Much of the job growth has been in low-wage industries such as retailing, social services, and temporary help services. Several thousand jobs have been lost in middle income positions in banking, hospitals and government. Although New York City has had the strongest increase in real wages and salaries since 1989, gains have been heavily concentrated among high earners on Wall Street and in corporate headquarters. Across the state, much of the job growth has been in low-wage industries.
More people leave New York than anywhere else.
The drop in the unemployment rate is due in part to a decline in the labor force. New York City's growth in the 1990s has been weaker, more dependent on Wall Street and less diversified than in the 1980s expansion. Despite its high poverty rates and great wage and income inequality, New York maintains a regressive state-local tax system. A progressive tax system is one in which the portion of a household's income that goes to taxes increases as its income increases. A regressive tax system is one in which that portion decreases as one's income increases.