This section presents the latest employment data (4th Quarter 2004) for New York City, Manhattan, and the Fashion Center BID (i.e., zip code 10018). It is important to note that employment statistics since the 1st quarter 2003 reflect the change-over from the SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) to the NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System). (See definitions in Introduction and Historical Trends in the Appendix) In effect, the implementation of the NAICS reflects the wide range of service-providing functions versus good-producing activities. Comparisons to prior periods can be made when looking at total employment, however, the various industry categories can not be directly compared, as the NAICS has introduced many new categories, and changed the definition of several categories.

On a citywide basis, the most recent figures are provided on a monthly basis, however, for Manhattan and New York City overall, we have used data that represents an annual average or the latest quarter in order to maintain comparability and account for seasonal variations in the data. For the Fashion Center BID, we have utilized data that reflects the boundaries defined by zip code 10018, as this is the smallest geographic area that data is complied and it approximates the Fashion Center BID to a large degree.

Exhibit 1 presents the 4th quarter employment by category for New York City for 2003 and 2004. Total private sector employment was reported to be 2,947,260, a 1.2% increase from the 4th quarter 2003. As expected, the manufacturing sector showed a 4.3% decline. Retail trade got a boost as employment rose 3.7% compared to the 4th quarter 2003. The accommodation and food services category and arts, entertainment and recreation category also experienced a rise in employment (3.1% and 6.3%, respectively). A decline was reported for the information and management companies categories. Overall, the employment data for New York City reflects the continued trend towards a service-, rather than manufacturing-, based economy. Approximately 77% of the total employment is within service-oriented industries.

New York City - "Fashion Industry" Employment

New York City’s “Fashion Industry” employment for the 4th quarter 2003 and 2004 is presented in Exhibit 2.

New York City’s “Fashion Industry” employment was reported to be 68,241 for the 4th quarter 2004. This is a slight increase of 278 employees between the 4th quarter 2003 and 2004. The most significant drop, (-10.0%) occurred in the textile manufacturing category. In contrast, apparel manufacturing and apparel wholesaling had a nominal increase in employment of 1.0% and 1.8%, respectively.

Manhattan’s “Fashion Industry” employment for the 4th quarter 2003 and 2004 is presented in Exhibit 3.

Total “Fashion Industry” employment in Manhattan was reported to be 49,531 in the 4th quarter 2004, a decline of approximately 499 employees. Similar to the New York City data, employment within the textile manufacturing sector declined significantly, while the apparel wholesale industry gained modestly. The “Fashion Industry” represented 2.8% of Manhattan private sector employment, and 2.3% citywide.

Total private sector employment within the district (i.e., zip code 10018) was reported to be 87,814 for the 4th quarter 2004, with “Fashion Industry” employment at about 25,384. This is presented in Exhibit 4.

The Textile and Apparel Manufacturing sub-sectors accounted for the bulk of all Manufacturing employment. Similarly, Wholesale Apparel represented a significant portion of the entire Wholesale Trade sector. “Fashion Industry” employment as a percentage of total private sector employment continues to decline and is approximately 28.9%, as opposed to 29.2% last year.

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