“We know today is a very windy day. That just means that the wind is blowing in the right direction for our economy”, the Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer started off. As a matter of fact, Mayor Eric Adams has just reviewed New York’s occupation rate, assessing small businesses growth–considering them “the heart and soul of the city”–and celebrating all-time high total jobs records.
“When I was sworn in as Mayor, the city was reeling from the devastation of the global pandemic. We came to the Office with a clear path and we stayed on that path. We have more jobs now than any time in our city’s history. We record over 4,7 million jobs in New York–the highest number recorded”, Mayor Adams announced, clarifying that nearly 300,000 of those occupations were created in the two years of his administration. “That’s the population of Pittsburgh,” he laughed. “This place really allows you to experience the American dream and we got it done in 22 months.”
In support of Mayor Adams’s announcement, Black Seed Bagel founder Matt Kliegman told his story of growth in the past two years. It is only one of the 1,046 small businesses assisted throughout NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund, a $75 million loan launched after the pandemic of COVID-19 to help businesses recover and grow. The restaurant hired more than 2,000 New Yorkers. “We didn’t just survive but we have thrived. We added almost 200 jobs since March 2020, we opened new stores around the five boroughs,” Kliegman said.
But there is still a lot to do. “We need to go on the ground and speak one-on-one with barbershops, hair salons, etc. and ask if people are employed, if they know how to be employed. I am blown away–if you have to do an unscientific survey, walking in the streets and checking how many people don’t know where’s the starting place to go for a job. So we need to be more visible,” Mayor Adams said.
You can find more about available job opportunities at cityjobs.nyc.gov.com.
