N.Y. tech sector becomes 3rd largest in U.S., DiNapoli says

The technology sector in New York State has grown to third largest in the nation, according to a report released Friday by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

DiNapoli and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed the new report during a tour of Maven, a digital health clinic for women founded by Katherine Ryder and based in Manhattan.

“New York City has become one of the most important tech hubs in the country,” said DiNapoli. “This industry has shown tremendous growth since 2010 and has become a large source of high-paying jobs while also creating new opportunities for workers with non-tech skills. The opening of the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island is an exciting example of the public and private sectors working together to support economic growth.”

Since the Great Recession, the tech sector in New York has added over 57,000 jobs, making it one of the fastest growing in the United States. Total tech employment in the state passed 280,000 jobs in 2016, which ranks New York as third in the nation after California and Texas.

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Since the start of the jobs recovery in 2010, this sector has grown by almost 26% across the state in comparison to the 16% tech growth seen in the rest of the country. Of the 10 states with the largest tech industries, New York was among only three states where growth exceeded 25% in that time period.

And more than 80% of these new high-paying jobs were located in New York City.

”We are working every day to make New York City’s tech ecosystem the strongest and most diverse in the country," aid de Blasio. "From our public schools to our Tech Talent Pipeline to our new hub at Union Square, we are connecting more New Yorkers to the opportunities in tech.”

DiNapoli’s report showed that the growth in the state’s tech sector was driven by jobs created in New York City. Employment in the city’s tech sector grew 57%, or 46,900 jobs, in the six-year period ending in 2016, while employment in the sector for the rest of the state rose 7%, or 10,200 jobs.

“Mayor de Blasio deserves credit for helping to grow the tech sector in New York City, creating job opportunities for local residents and preparing students in the public school system for jobs in the sector,” said DiNapoli.

“Today’s jobs report demonstrates just how critical diversity is to New York’s employment success, and particularly in the tech space,” said Katherine Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven. “We still have a long way to go, but women now represent a quarter of NYC’s tech workforce. I’m proud that 16 of them are right here at Maven, representing 65% of our workforce, and to have a board that also reflects our purpose: a women’s digital health platform, with an all-female board.”

The comptroller’s report also showed that the number of tech firms in New York City rose to 7,600 in 2016, a 23% increase since 2010; the average salary in the tech sector in the city increased three times faster than the rest of the private sector between 2010-2016, hitting a record $147,300; most tech workers were 45 years or younger and had at least a bachelor’s degree; and more than one-third were immigrants and one-quarter were women.

Almost half of the jobs in the city’s tech sector are with businesses engaged in computer systems design, the report said, adding that these companies have hired 19,000 people since 2010.

While 86% of the city’s tech jobs are located in Manhattan, the number in Brooklyn increased by almost 50% in the six-year period ending in 2016.

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Technology, media and telecom Protected health information City of New York, NY State of New York New York
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