The Big Apple’s private sector lost 30,000 jobs in the last two months, according to a troubling new city comptroller report — as struggling business owners lament “the American dream is dying.”
Private-sector employment dropped by 23,000 in September after losing 7,400 jobs in August — with gigs in finance and tourism leading the private sector in declines, according to a new report by City Comptroller Mark Levine’s office.
“Despite a relatively strong tourism season, Leisure & Hospitality employment fell 7,700 in September alone and is down 17,000 jobs over the past year,” Levine wrote, calling the figures “concerning” across the board.
The finance sector, one of the state’s biggest tax revenue drivers, shrank by nearly 6,000 positions in September.
Business owners said the grim figures are more than just numbers, detailing how rising costs have forced them to close up shop, leaving New Yorkers without jobs.
“The costs just were so high,” said Sam Musovic, owner of Upper East Side cocktail bar Sojourn Social, who closed another business on West 72nd Street late last year, laying off about 100 workers.
“Produce … we’re paying, call it $40 a case, now we’re paying $80 a case, the eggs doubled and the rent went higher,” he told The Post on Friday.
“I mean, the American dream is kind of dying, unfortunately,” said Musovic, who immigrated to the city from Montenegro in Southern Europe and started as a dishwasher.
“This kind of limited dream, you could say.”
Greenwich Village restaurant Loring Place announced in July that it was no longer able to shoulder the growing cost burdens and would be permanently shuttering.
“We are just four months shy of our ten-year anniversary, and the truth is simple: rising costs have made this the necessary time to close this chapter,” chef and owner Dan Kluger wrote in a social media post.
“Real estate taxes became unbearable, general insurance costs were through the roof after COVID,” he added in an interview with The Post. “Con Ed went from around an average of $8,000 a month to $14,000 plus in the matter of a few years. Health insurance had a 38% increase this year and had already increased to an unsustainable amount.
“Garbage went up… I mean there isn’t anything that didn’t and that’s reality,” he added, “but when something like Con Ed goes up that much how can you pass that on to the guest?”
Overall, the city’s private sector has lost 32,000 positions over the past year, according to the comptroller’s office report released Thursday.
“After picking up some steam earlier this year, the job market has hit a wall, with private sector employment decelerating nationally and dropping sharply locally,” Levine wrote.
“Meanwhile, national GDP is estimated to have grown by roughly 3% this past quarter,” he continued. “The ‘K-Shaped’ economy gripping the country is squeezing New York City just as tightly.”
He noted the 0.6% inflation jump in September nationally was the largest since May, “with New York City now up 4.5% year-to-year, as residents face a high cost of living compounded by rising energy costs.”
“Rents are now over 5% higher than this time last year, and energy prices are up over 21% since then as well,” Levine said.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said the latest figures paint a bleak picture for the hospitality industry.
“These numbers should set off alarm bells about the future of New York’s restaurants and bars,” said Rigie. “Skyrocketing costs for labor, food, insurance, rent, and regulatory compliance are squeezing businesses already operating on razor-thin margins, and we’re now seeing troubling losses in jobs and establishments.”
Rigie and others pointed the finger at city elected officials for not following through on promises to make the Big Apple more affordable and welcoming of small businesses.
“Permitting has been quite a challenge for us,” said George Tenedios, who owns nearly two dozen restaurants in the metro area.
“It takes longer than ever to get building permits for new construction and building permits for renovations, compared to a year or two ago,” he said. “It can take upwards of 10 to 15 weeks to get these permits today compared to two years ago when it took more like four weeks.”
Stathis Antonakopoulos, who owns the Carnegie Diner & Cafe, Voco Roofbar and Delos Greek Restaurant, agreed that permitting delays were a key issue.
“We’re trying to create hundreds of jobs in this city, and every opening turns into months of waiting on permits and sign-offs,” Antonakopoulos said. “Every month a space sits finished but closed is a month nobody’s on payroll.
“Small operators can’t absorb that,” Antonakopoulos added. “When the city makes it this slow and expensive to open, the jobs in that report are exactly what you lose.”
Antonakopoulos called for a return to Bloomberg-era government, where agencies were held responsible for missing deadlines.
“If [Mayor Zohran] Mamdani put things in place to make things easier for small business owners, I haven’t experienced it,” Tenedios quipped about the socialist mayor.
But the fiscal watchdog said the city’s outlook wasn’t completely dire, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.8% and “red-hot rental markets” in office and residential properties pointing to continued demand for folks to move to and stay in the five boroughs.
The private sector job losses, though, come ahead of the expected debate in Albany about hiking taxes on businesses to cover the impending massive budget deficits in New York City and other municipalities around the state.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed on the campaign trail not to raise taxes for corporations.
Still, many insiders expect some sort of new revenue raiser for the state to be put forward as Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes his “tax the rich” agenda.
“We have been continuously sounding the alarm that New York business face some the highest corporate taxes in the nation, not to mention, the overall costs of simply operating are just too much for many to bear,” said Heather Mulligan, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, in a statement.
“This recent data should be a wake-up call,” Mulligan said. “It’s time to ensure we’re creating a business climate in The Big Apple, and throughout the entire state, that allows business to invest, expand and create jobs, not lose them.”
https://nypost.com/2026/10/23/us-news/nyc-lost-30k-private-sector-jobs-in-just-2-months-concerning/
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