BIG APPLE JOB 'CORE' HURTS
Recovery lags amid new Kat mask order
New York City is already struggling to regain the jobs it lost amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and fears are now mounting that Gov. Hochul’s new workplace mask mandate could slow the Big Apple’s recovery even more.
The city’s current unemployment rate of 9.4 percent is more than double the national average of 4.2 percent, the latest state and federal data show.
While the US added nearly 6 million jobs in the past year, the latest state data show the Big Apple’s economic recovery lagged considerably behind other big cities, with just 174,000 jobs regained in the 12 previous months through October.
The lack of a significant portion of the usual tourist throngs and Manhattan’s 1 million office workers has contributed to how severely the city’s hospitality and retail industries have been ravaged by the pandemic.
The city has regained fewer than six out of every 10 jobs it lost since early 2020, Center for New York City Affairs economist James Parrott told The New York Times.
By comparison, the country overall has regained more than 90 percent of the jobs it lost.
“It certainly looks to me like we’re going to have a much slower, much more drawn-out recovery,” Parrott said of New York City’s return to pre-pandemic job levels.
Office return up in air
As the Big Apple experiences some of the lowest rates of COVID-19 and highest rates of vaccination across the US, about 28 percent of Manhattan office workers have been returning to the office on an average weekday, according to a survey by the business group, The Partnership for New York City.
Just 8 percent of office workers were in their workplace full time as of last month, the poll showed.
Before the Omicron variant began emerging, employers told pollsters they were expecting almost half of their office workers to be back in the office on an average weekday by the end of January.
But those expectations are now up in the air with Hochul’s sudden mask-at-your-desk mandate, which has sparked outrage as the city continues to try and claw its way out of an economic rut.
Hochul’s new statewide directive — which took effect Monday — requires workers and customers to wear masks or show proof of vaccination in yet another challenge for struggling businesses and offices trying to lure workers back.
“These mask mandates hinder the desire people have to get back to the office and further delay the revitalization of Midtown and downtown office life,” an outraged financier told The Post.
Struggling hospitality
While New York City already has a controversial vaccine re
quirement for restaurant workers and indoor diners, there are concerns that Hochul’s mask mandate could further impact the already struggling hospitality industry amid the holiday season.
“It may send a message that deters some people from dining out or hosting holiday parties,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance.
The new statewide rules were put into effect largely to stem the tide of a surge in cases upstate where vaccination rates are low.
New York City’s latest sevenday COVID positivity rate of 2.7 percent is the state’s lowest, according to state Health Department data. Meanwhile, Hochul’s native western New York tops out at 9.55 percent.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams on Tuesday vowed to adopt a tactful approach toward enforcement of the mandate, which is set to remain in force until at least Jan. 15.
“I support what the governor is doing. It is a non-invasive way of just telling New Yorkers that this is a serious moment,” he said on PIX 11 TV. “These spikes are coming and going, new variants, and from time to time we have to adjust.”