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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 456-09
October 15, 2009

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES RECORD JOB PLACEMENTS IN THIRD QUARTER OF 2009

Despite National Downturn, New Yorkers Were Placed in Nearly 7,000 Jobs in the Third Quarter of 2009, On Pace to Meet Goal of 20,000 This Year Set in Mayor's State of the City Speech

Providing Job Training for New Yorkers and Helping Place Them in Jobs Is a Central Part of the Bloomberg Administration's Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber and Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Robert W. Walsh today announced that despite the economic downturn, the City placed New Yorkers in 6,802 jobs in the third quarter this year, up nearly 60 percent from 2008. After a record high 17,000 job placements in 2008, the City is on pace to make more than 20,000 job placements by the end of this year, reaching the goal Mayor Bloomberg set in his 2009 State of the City speech. Providing job training for New Yorkers and helping place them in jobs is a central part of the Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan to create jobs for New Yorkers today, implement a vision for long-term economic growth, and build affordable, attractive neighborhoods.

“Despite the national economic downturn, which continues to make for trying times for many New Yorkers, our efforts to place people in jobs are paying off in record numbers,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Eight years ago, the City’s workforce centers were placing New Yorkers in roughly 500 jobs a year. This year, we placed them in more than 6,800 – just in the last three months. We have a lot of work still to do to bounce back from the national recession, but the 20,000 New Yorkers we’ll place in jobs this year demonstrate that by being proactive, we can make real differences in people’s lives.”

“The Mayor has challenged us with an ambitious goal to connect more New Yorkers with jobs, especially during these difficult times,” said Small Business Services Commissioner Walsh. “We just delivered a record breaking quarter for job placements and we will continue work even harder at our career centers.”

Through the first nine months of 2009, the City has helped place New Yorkers in 17,305 jobs citywide, including 4,526 job placements in the Bronx; 3,043 job placements in Brooklyn; 2,677 job placements in Manhattan; 5,534 job placements in Queens; and 1,525 job placements in Staten Island. The top sectors in which New Yorkers have been placed in jobs include retail; healthcare and social assistance; accommodation and food services; administrative support; waste management and remediation services; professional, scientific, and technical services; and transportation and warehousing.

The placement rates are a result of the strong foundation the City built for its training and placement system as well as several recent enhancements including the extension of the hours of operation at the Workforce1 Career Centers in all five boroughs. The Centers are now open until 8:00 p.m. three days a week, and also on the first and third Saturdays of each month. In addition, Workforce1 Career Centers' staff focuses on finding jobs for individuals in fields that have a high demand for jobs. Small Business Services has been working with the NYC Labor Market Information Service, NYC Workforce Investment Board and the Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center of the CUNY to determine industries with potential for growth.

Last year, Mayor Bloomberg announced 18 initiatives to help New Yorkers weather the economic downturn. The initiatives were designed to create jobs, support the City’s small businesses and homeowners, and provide targeted relief to the City’s most vulnerable populations. As part of the plan, the Administration has implemented several initiatives to provide support to the City’s workforce system including: expanding capacity at existing Workforce1 Career Centers; creating Careerlinknyc.com, a comprehensive website to assist laid-off workers; upgrading Workforce1 Career Center technology infrastructure by investing nearly $3 million to enhance the process of matching jobseekers to job opportunities; and opening two new sector-based career centers over the next two months.

In 2003, Mayor Bloomberg started the transformation of the City’s workforce development system by consolidating the City’s adult workforce development programs with the Department of Small Business Services. The strategy was designed to link workforce development with business needs and to benefit from New York City’s strengths: more than 200,000 small businesses, hundreds of neighborhoods with distinct cultural and economic characteristics, and a diverse labor force. Since the Workforce1 Career Centers opened 2004, the City has placed more than 80,000 New Yorkers in jobs.

Working with businesses is an integral part of Small Business Services’ approach to workforce development. Small Business Services’ NYC Business Solutions provide services that help business start, operate, and expand throughout the five boroughs, with account mangers helping local businesses to recruit New Yorkers with the right skill sets.

New Yorkers are also benefiting from new job training programs being funded with money received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide additional job training and placement services over the next two years. The funding is being directed to new and existing programs offered through the Workforce1 Career Centers in all five boroughs.

New York City’s Workforce1 Career Centers reach New Yorkers across the City's five boroughs. New Yorkers can find and prepare for employment with free services including career counseling; advice on how to interview for a job; assistance creating resumes and cover letters; job placement services; career workshops; employer recruitment events; and connection to occupational skills training.  New Yorkers can find their nearest Workforce1 Career Center by calling 311.

The Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is a comprehensive strategy to bring New York City through the current economic downturn as fast as possible. It focuses on three major areas: creating jobs for New Yorkers today, implementing a long-term vision for growing the city’s economy, and building affordable, attractive neighborhoods in every borough. Taken together, the initiatives that the City has launched to achieve these goals will generate thousands of jobs and put New York City on a path to economic recovery and growth. To learn more about the plan, visit nyc.gov.

Recent Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan announcements to help diversify the New York City economy include:

  • Five new initiatives to help strengthen New York City’s cultural sector.
  • A marketing and tourism agreement to boost travel between New York City and London.
  • Broadway had its biggest season ever, selling 12 million tickets generating $943 million.
  • More than 800 retailers throughout the five boroughs participated in Fashion’s Night Out.
  • Resources for workforce training to New Yorkers for jobs in a green economy.
  • ImClone will locate its research headquarters at the City’s new bioscience complex.
  • A plan to create 11,000 permanent industrial jobs on Brooklyn’s working waterfront.
  • Eight initiatives to strengthen the media industry in New York City.
  • New international cruise activity, growing New York City’s 13,000-job cruise industry.
  • Steps to help New York City’s bioscience companies compete for Federal funding.
  • Legislation that will green buildings and create 19,000 construction jobs.
  • Green projects at the Brooklyn Navy Yard are creating more than 1,700 permanent jobs.
  • Comprehensive initiatives to support the nonprofit sector and its 490,000 jobs.
  • New programs to provide training and resources for City’s future entrepreneurs.
  • The start to construction of the International Gem Tower, which will house 3,000 jobs.

Other recent Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan announcements include:

  • Stimulus funds to begin training for 90 new FDNY Emergency Medical Technicians.
  • An increase in MWBE contracts in FY 2009, bringing the total to more than $1 billion.
  • The City hosted a bilingual small business seminar for Latino business associations.
  • A $150 million redevelopment plan for the Staten Island Homeport.
  • The approval of Recovery Zone bonds to create 960 jobs in Queens and Brooklyn.
  • The City financed 12,500 low- and middle-income affordable units in the last year.
  • The start of construction of the $148 million East River Waterfront Esplanade.
  • The first housing projects to start using TCAP stimulus funds, creating 2,800 jobs.
  • The start of construction of an affordable housing complex in the South Bronx.
  • Steps to prevent a speculative purchase of Ocelot Capital Group sites in the South Bronx.
  • Plans for the first 120 units of the Seaview Senior housing project in Staten Island.
  • SecondMarket, Inc. will create 367 new jobs in Lower Manhattan through JCRP.
  • $1 million to create a shared commercial kitchen at La Marqueta in East Harlem.
  • The start of construction of a 600-unit mixed-income complex in the Bronx.
  • The start of construction of major improvements to Queens Plaza and Jackson Avenue.
  • $100 million for 14 infrastructure projects across Queens that will create 400 new jobs.
  • The adoption of the City’s plan for Coney Island that will create more than 30,000 jobs.
  • New initiatives to help support Hispanic-owned small businesses.
  • The opening of China Construction Bank’s New York City office.
  • 11 new initiatives to support the financial services sector and promote entrepreneurship.
  • $350,000 in NYC Business Solutions Training Funds awarded to small businesses.
  • Enhancements to the City’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program.
  • The opening of a 125-unit mixed income housing development in the Central Harlem.
  • A record 10,500 job placements through the first half of 2009.
  • A plan to convert unoccupied apartments and stalled sites into affordable housing.
  • The opening of New Mount Hope Community Center in the Bronx.
  • The purchase of the Hunter’s Point South site to create a new, affordable neighborhood.
  • A public campaign to help more New Yorkers get free foreclosure prevention services.
  • The start of services of the Park Slope 5th Avenue Business Improvement District.
  • A stimulus-funded bond program to spur commercial and industrial projects citywide.
  • The City will use nearly $32 million to train 10,000 New Yorkers for jobs.
  • New space for 20 small businesses in Bushwick, creating more than 80 industrial jobs.
  • City’s Workforce1 Centers in Harlem and Jamaica received awards for innovation.
  • Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program to encourage grocery stores.
  • City-supported loans unavailable from banks to help small businesses stay in operation.
  • Three new Financial Empowerment Centers offering free, one-on-one financial coaching.
  • Stimulus funding to help the City provide summer jobs for 51,000 young New Yorkers.
  • The opening of New Hope Walton Project, housing for low-income residents in Harlem
  • New affordable housing at Gateway Building, a long-vacant structure in the South Bronx.
  • The Harlem Business Assistance Fund to help businesses relocate to the 125th Street area.
  • The expansion of NYC Business Express to help businesses obtain permits and licenses.
  • The “Nine in ’09” campaign to promote economic activity in diverse neighborhoods.
  • A Center for Economic Opportunity program put 4,000 low-income New Yorkers in jobs.
  • Stimulus-funded community development projects that will strengthen neighborhoods.
  • Stimulus-funded Housing Authority projects that will create jobs for 3,255 New Yorkers.
  • The start of construction of 103 units of affordable housing in Brownsville.
  • The opening of Home Depot in the South Bronx creating 200 new permanent jobs.
  • The latest round of training funds to help small businesses train their employees.
  • The placement of 50 laid-off New Yorkers into positions at entrepreneurial companies.
  • New York City achieved a record 5,000 job placements through the first quarter of 2009.
  • Help for a beer distributor to create 55 permanent and 30 construction jobs in the Bronx.
  • Federal stimulus transportation projects that will create or preserve 32,000 jobs.
  • Steps the City is taking to help small businesses adapt to conditions and avoid layoffs.
  • A plan to create and retain 400,000 jobs over the next six years.






MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser / Andrew Brent   (212) 788-2958

Laura Postiglione   (Small Business Services)
(212) 513-6318




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