According to a recent report by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest earners in the Big Apple are those whose businesses or offices are located in Manhattan.
In the first quarter of 2004 an adjusted average weekly income of those working in Manhattan was $1,913. In Queens the figure was $749, in the Bronx $686, in Brooklyn $665, and the figure fell to $659 in Staten Island.
The increase in income for Manhattan workers in the first quarter of 2004, in comparison to the 13.6 percent increase for 2003, proved to be the highest increase among the 317 most populous counties in the nation. Although there was improvement for the other city boroughs, they did not rank among the leading counties.
For example, the national average increase in wages was 3.8 percent, Brooklyn achieved a 5.6 percent gain, and wages in Staten Island rose by 4.9 percent. The numbers for Queens and the Bronx were more modest, respectively 3 percent and 1.9 percent.
The fastest growing wage in Manhattan was in the financial sector, (27.4 percent or, $5,680). Manufacturing wages grew by 9.5 percent ($1,155 dollars), and information service wages grew by 8.1 percent ($2,130 dollars).
The Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement (WCECA), which provides job training and placement to former welfare recipient single-mothers, also issued a report recently indicating that an increase in wages does not necessarily translate into improvements in the material welfare of many New York residents.
It turns out that the incomes of almost half of New York families are insufficient for covering basic needs such as housing, food, medical insurance, and pre-school or kindergarten. It is calculated that in order to be able to cover basic expenses, the income for a family of one adult and two dependent children must be three times the federally determined cutoff for poverty, which is $14,824.
A family of three in the Bronx must earn at least $49,874 in order to maintain a normal life. In other words, a single mother must earn $24 dollars per hour, working full-time in order to reach such a threshold. In other boroughs the numbers only grow: in Brooklyn, $51,567, in Queens, $54,961, and $77,957 for lower and mid Manhattan.
Experts remind us that government assistance in the form of food stamps, welfare benefits and apartment subsidies can only be given to a family of three if the annual household income is half of the national poverty line.
A family of three in the Bronx, for example, would distribute its living wage earnings as follows. Of the $49,874, 34 percent goes to pay for childcare, kindergarten, or for the services of a babysitter, 22 percent goes toward rent, 15 percent to taxes, and 14 percent for food. If a large part of medical insurance costs are covered by the employer, then 6 percent of the family budget goes to insurance, 2 percent for public transportation, and other expenses take up 8 percent.
The Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement report makes evident just how difficult it is for some New York families to make ends meet. There is no doubt whatsoever that without government assistance and the aid of private charities, a large part of those living in the Big Apple would inevitably add to the ranks of beggars and the homeless.
