Two years after Corona plunged the US economy into a downward spiral, the American labor market has made a brilliant comeback. More than a million jobs were created in the first two months of the new year.
Job vacancies are nearing a record high and the Fed believes the economy is strong enough to withstand rate hikes to curb inflation.
However, there is not much evidence of an upswing in New York City. Here the economy is heavily dependent on working life in the offices and the entertainment sector. The still great popularity of the home office is depressing office utilization in midtown Manhattan and the financial district.
Passenger traffic on the subway is just 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels and the unemployment rate is among the highest among U.S. metropolitan areas at 7.6 percent.
“Major cities that were quicker to reopen after the original lockdowns have tended to recover more,” said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner.
(Bloomberg/cash)
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