Report: NYC banked $61B in economic benefit from 2015 construction activity

Dive Brief:

A New York City Building Congress analysis of 2015 city construction data found that $39 billion of construction activity generated an additional $22 billion in spending and output, resulting in $61 billion of total economic benefit for the city and representing a 7% increase from 2014's $57 billion.
Of the $22 billion, $11.6 billion was construction industry-related, while $10.4 billion represented increased consumer-related purchasing, the NYBC reported.
NYC construction activity in 2015 also created more than 300,000 direct construction and ancillary jobs, with an average salary of $84,000. The report also found that for each dollar spent on construction in the city resulted in an additional $0.56 in economic benefit.

Dive Insight:

NYBC President Richard T. Anderson said that because 75% of the construction workforce lives in the city, the "ripple effects of all this spending and employment is enormous."

The NYBC reported that residential building accounted for most of the direct construction spending at $14.9 billion, followed by government project spending of $12.6 billion, with nonresidential bringing up the rear with $11.6 billion in direct spending. Anderson said the private sector activity compensated for the year-over-year 14% decrease in government spending.

A recent Appleseed study revealed that the mammoth mixed-use Hudson Yards development on the West Side of Manhattan has proven to be an economic boost to the city all on its own. The study found that Hudson Yards will generate $18.9 billion in economic benefit for New York City by the time the entire project is complete. The study also found that Hudson Yards will make up 2.5% of New York City’s gross domestic product and pay nearly $500 million in city taxes annually.

Another boom area the NYBC has reported is the $3 billion worth of starts and renovations in the city's educational sector in 2015, up 83% from 2014 and twice the yearly average spent from 2010 to 2014. The NYBC analyzed Dodge Data & Analytics information and also found that New York City more than tripled construction spending on colleges and universities between 2014 to 2015 and quadrupled spending on post-secondary schools between 2010 to 2014.