New York by the Numbers
Monthly Economic and Fiscal Outlook
No. 109 - January 2026
READ MORE [[link removed]]
Photo Credit: Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB/Shutterstock
A Message from the Comptroller
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Dear New Yorkers,
This is the first newsletter of the new year—and the first of my administration. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those who may not yet know me, and to reconnect with the many New Yorkers I have had the privilege to work with over the years.
For the past 25 years, I have worked to make New York City more affordable, equitable, and healthy. I began my career as a bilingual math and science teacher in the South Bronx, where I saw firsthand how disinvestment—and the lack of access to basic financial tools like credit and banking—can hold communities back. That experience led me to found a community credit union in Upper Manhattan, which has since provided more than $100 million in small loans with a 98 percent repayment rate. For many families and small businesses, this meant access to capital for the first time—helping neighbors start a first business, buy a first home, or purchase a first computer.
In 2013, I was elected by my Washington Heights community to the New York City Council, where I served as Chair of the Committee on Parks and later as Chair of the Committee on Health. In that role, I brought a data-driven, science-based approach to protecting New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was elected Manhattan Borough President in 2021 and made the creation of badly needed housing a central focus of my administration. Across Manhattan, we identified 171 sites with the potential to deliver more than 71,000 new homes, and over the past two years, progress has been made on roughly 20 percent of those sites.
It is with this experience that I write to you today as New York City Comptroller—and it is with the same data-driven, equity-focused approach that I will chart the city’s fiscal and economic future. This is a new era in New York City, one with enormous opportunities ahead. Since the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, our city has roared back in countless ways and reasserted itself as a global cultural and economic powerhouse.
However, amid the prosperity and promise, far too many New Yorkers continue to struggle. The city faces an unprecedented affordability crisis that is keeping housing beyond the reach of far too many. Young people are struggling to break into the job market. Our homelessness crisis, as the data in this newsletter indicates, has reached painful heights, fueled in part by a broken mental health system.
The Office of the New York City Comptroller is critical to the fiscal and economic health of the city, and at challenging moments like this, it plays a truly significant role in finding sensible solutions to the city’s financial obstacles while also providing accountability to every agency of City government.
This is no small task. But from investing pension funds to finance the creation of affordable housing to utilizing our oversight tools to ensure City government works more efficiently, I firmly believe this Office is vital to the goal of building a fairer, safer, and more affordable New York City for all.
I look forward to working every day, as your comptroller, to make that a reality.
Sincerely,
[[link removed]]
New York City Comptroller Mark D. Levine
Table of Contents
* The U.S. Economy [[link removed]]
* New York City Economy [[link removed]]
* City Finances [[link removed]]
Highlights
* U.S. private-sector employment expanded at a sluggish pace in November and December. Excluding Government and Health & Social Services, employment has been declining gradually since last April. After climbing to a 4-year high of 4.5% in November, U.S. unemployment edged down to 4.4% in December.


* Similarly, private-sector job creation in NYC has been subdued and has been limited to the Health Care sector. The city’s unemployment rate has drifted up, but only due to increased labor force participation. In November (latest month available), the employment-population ratio hit a record high of 59.0%.


* Data on both initial weekly jobless claims and continuing claims, which are available through year end, suggest that layoffs remain subdued.


* Consumer confidence fell nationwide for the fifth straight month in December; in New York State, confidence retreated from its highest level of the year, but it remained above the U.S. average.


* Regional business sentiment has languished, as indicated by the New York Fed’s December surveys of both manufacturers and service firms.


* While the nationwide office market has struggled to recover, New York City’s market has continued its steady and fairly robust rebound.


* Tourism in New York City has shown continued resilience in recent weeks, even as it has sputtered across other parts of the U.S.


* Early PIT withholding data suggests that New York City’s winter bonuses are 9.3% higher than last year, for the same period, though most bonuses are typically paid later in the season and estimates may change. This growth is broadly consistent with the Comptroller’s most recent forecast of rising Wall Street bonuses.


* In her January 13th State of the State address, Governor Hochul previewed priorities for the State FY 2027 Executive Budget, including a major expansion of child-care initiatives previously announced with Mayor Mamdani.


* While the Trump Administration announced a freeze of approximately $10 billion in social services and child care funding across in five Democratic-led states, including New York; a federal judge has since issued a temporary restraining order preventing the freeze from taking effect.
View the January Newsletter [[link removed]]
In Case You Missed It
Over the past month, the Comptroller's Office released the following announcement on the state of NYC's economy and finances:
* Letter to New Yorkers from New York City Comptroller Mark D. Levine [[link removed]]
* NYC Comptroller Mark Levine Announces the Appointment of Monte Tarbox as Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Bureau of Asset Management [[link removed]]
* Statement from New York City Comptroller Mark Levine on Gov. Hochul’s 2026 State of the State [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
Office of the New York City Comptroller
Office of New York City Comptroller Mark D. Levine
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
United States
This email was sent to [email protected]. If you wish to no longer receive these messages, please unsubscribe. unsubscribe: [link removed]