Full Employment? Not In NYC Tech, Where Hiring Keeps Speeding Up

New York City is continuing to see a rapidly expanding technology sector, with job growth jumping again last year.

In fact, tech talent employment increased 44% between 2011 and 2018 in the city, according to CBRE’s Tech Talent ViewPoint report released Monday. There were 264,000 tech employees in the New York City metropolitan area at the end of last year, according to the report.

Job growth in the sector is speeding up, too. Tech hiring grew by 2.2% in 2016 to 3.3% in 2017 and 4% last year, per CBRE. What’s more, the city produces more technology degree graduates than anywhere else in North America. It added 13,000 new tech grads in 2017, which represents a 48% increase over five years.

"Tech giants Google, Peloton Interactive, Netflix and Twitter alone accounted for more than 2.7M SF of space commitments in New York over the past 12 months and many more leading technology firms are actively evaluating expansion needs, further cementing New York as one of the top tech markets in the world,” CBRE Vice Chairman Sacha Zarba said in a release.

The city in general is experiencing enormous job growth. It added more than 820,400 jobs between 2009 and 2018, according to a report from the New York State comptroller's that said the city is in its longest job expansion since the end of World War II.

And while Amazon’s decision to cancel plans for a second headquarters in Queens caused many to fear the city is becoming unattractive to business and top talent, it seems the tech giant is still looking to expand.

Last week, reports emerged that it is in talks to ink a deal at the famed Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue. Amazon could lease the whole building, which was recently bought by WeWork's investment arm. There were also rumors it was looking at Brookfield’s Manhattan West, but the landlord has denied there is a deal in the works.