Wall Street profits drive record bonuses to $258K

The state comptroller reported Wednesday that Wall Street's record profits drove up the average bonus paid to New York City employees to the securities industry to $257,500 last year.

Wall Street profits drive record bonuses to $258K

According to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's annual estimates, the average bonus in the securities industry was 20% higher than 2020. It came from a bonus pool of $45 billion.

DiNapoli mentioned pretax profits for broker/dealer operations at the New York Stock Exchange in the first three quarters 2021, which increased by 19.6% and reached $44.9 billion.

Despite accounting for 5% of the private sector workforce, one-fifth (25%) of New York City's private sector wages are paid by the securities industry. According to DiNapoli, the industry was responsible for 18% state tax collections and 77% city tax collections over the 2021 fiscal year.

According to the comptroller, recent events could cause a decrease in near-term profitability as well as bonus payments.

In a prepared statement, DiNapoli stated that markets are unstable while other sectors' recovery is slow and uneven. Russia waged an inexcusable battle on Ukraine's freedom. "Until more New Yorkers and other sectors (retail, tourism, construction and the arts) enjoy similar success, New York won't be able to return to its pre-Covid economic strength," DiNapoli said.