NYC Non-Residential Construction Spending Dropped in 2013
By Lauren Elkies Schram April 7, 2014 10:55 am
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Construction of office space, institutional development, sports/entertainment venues and hotels fell 6.9 percent in 2013 to $8.4 billion from the year prior, marking the third consecutive year-over-year non-residential spending decline, according to a new New York Building Congress analysis.
“At $8.4 billion, construction spending in the non-residential sector was substantial in 2013, but it is disappointing to see a decline in annual spending,” said New York Building Congress President Richard Anderson in a prepared statement. “It is also disappointing in that we had expected spending in this sector to reach $10 billion when we released our annual forecast in October of last year. Hopefully, much of the anticipated work will come to fruition in the coming year.”
Overall construction spending in New York City, however, increased 6 percent between 2012 and 2013 to $29.3 billion. At the same time, construction employment rose four percent year-over-year to a five-year high of 120,900 jobs. But the number of jobs was down from 132,625 in 2008.
“The construction industry’s importance to the city’s economy cannot be overstated,” Mr. Anderson said. “Last year alone, it accounted for $45 billion in economic output, more than $23 billion in labor income and created close to $29 billion in value to the overall economy. These statistics deserve serious consideration in the ongoing discussions about development policies and capital budgeting.”
