Nearly one-third of city job gains come from real estate

The real estate industry powered another strong month for New York City employment figures, providing 2,000 of the 6,100 new jobs in April, according to an April employment report prepared by Eastern Consolidated. It was one of four industries that contributed at least 1,000 new jobs to the city, and has now gained 4,100 new jobs since the end of 2010. But it’s not all good news, as fewer people are being employed to build on that real estate. The construction industry lost 1,700 jobs in April, according to the report, following last week’s news from a separate report that construction employment has hit its lowest level in 13 years. All told, so far in 2011, the construction sector has lost 2,700 jobs. The hotel industry gained 1,200 jobs in April, which the report said is little surprise considering there are 30 new hotels that opened in New York City in 2010 alone. Overall, the city has added 71,300 jobs in the last 19 months, recovering more than half of all jobs lost during the recession. The gains are a positive indicator for the city’s residential real estate market. TRD