This report details how vital small businesses are to New York’s economy, generating nearly $1 trillion in sales and revenues with more than 3.7 million employees at over 422,000 establishments in 2023. New York ranked fourth among states in the number of small businesses and third behind California and Florida for its share of small businesses, but trailed the rest of the country in some key metrics, including small business creation and employment.

This report uses federal-state employment and wage data, as well as occupational data and industry outlooks, to discuss the distribution of jobs by industry sector in New York State and the impact that some of the largest sectors have had on 21st-century jobs in the state’s nine economic development regions outside of New York City.

Sales tax collections for local governments and other local taxing entities in New York State totaled $24.4 billion in 2025, up 4.5 percent ($1 billion) over the prior year. This growth was close to three times the year-over-year increase for 2024 (1.6 percent) and higher than the 3.8 percent average pre-pandemic rate. All of the state’s 10 regions saw year-over-year increases in collections in 2025. New York City’s sales taxes grew by 5 percent ($521 million), while collections in the counties and cities in the rest of the state experienced 3.9 percent ($451 million) aggregate growth.

New York City’s Open Streets program, initiated in 2020 to transform streets into public spaces, partly to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped support the recovery of more than 67,000 retail and restaurant jobs between the first and most recent year of operation, though the gains were concentrated in areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. This report analyzes labor force trends between 2020 and 2024 to understand the extent of how employment growth in Open Street corridors fared against non-Open Street corridors.

This analysis offers a snapshot of New York City’s existing child care and Early Childhood Education services, the program characteristics unique to each, and an estimate of their total overall cost to the City.

New York City’s budget gaps may reach as high as $10 billion in FY 2027 and grow to $13.6 billion by FY 2029, based on risks including slowing economic growth, rising costs and the restructuring of the funding relationship between the federal government, states and their localities. Mindful of the current economic trajectory and what is transpiring in Washington, the City must make balanced and sustainable fiscal choices this year to manage its substantial operational needs and encourage employment and business growth.

New York’s young adults — some members of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennials (born 1981-1996) — are facing a complex economic landscape, including higher unemployment rates, increasing costs, and larger debt burdens, that threatens their financial well-being. Rising household expenses, particularly for food, housing, and transportation, have outpaced growth in income. These conditions raise concerns about the State’s ability to retain its young workforce, critical for sustaining long-term growth.

Local government sales tax collections totaled $18.2 billion from January to September 2025, an increase of 4.3% ($747 million) compared to the same period last year. Growth so far this year is higher than the 3.8% average growth rate seen from January to September for the 2010 to 2019 period of recovery and expansion following the Great Recession. | Regional Table [.xlsx]

The New York City metropolitan area is the second largest market for venture capital (VC) funding in the United States, with $28.5 billion in investments, or 13.3% of the national total in 2024. The amount invested in the region has more than doubled since 2015. Though overall VC activity remains stronger than before the pandemic, the second quarter of 2025 experienced a slowdown from the prior quarter that is reflective of federal economic policy that remains uncertain.

This reports analyzes the federal tax provisions enacted under Public Law No: 119-21 and how they may impact New Yorkers. While the bill made permanent many tax changes included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it includes new tax breaks for seniors and the working class that are largely temporary. These minimal tax benefits, along with the significant cuts in safety net spending included in the legislation, will put a larger burden on New Yorkers trying to make ends meet.