New York City's Tech Ecosystem Supports a Diverse Economy

Innovation has led to incredible advances in technology, which have changed the way we work and live. Dynamic tech hubs have been established in cities around the world, stretching from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Seattle, to Austin, Chicago, New York City and Boston, to Vancouver, London, Sao Paulo and beyond.

But how should we define and measure the tech economy? Along with Google, the Association for a Better New York and the NY Tech Meetup, Citi commissioned a first-of-its-kind study to measure the impact of tech jobs on New York City's economy. The report was just released and it contains some fascinating conclusions.

The Tech Economy - Not the Tech Sector

Instead of the traditional definition of looking only at tech jobs in tech industries (for instance, an engineer at Google), the report considers the entire "ecosystem" of tech positions in New York City. This ecosystem includes non-tech jobs in tech industries (a sales rep at Etsy) as well as tech jobs in non-tech industries (a web developer or social media specialist at Citi).

An estimated 291,000 people work in the overall NYC tech ecosystem, which is 7% of the city's workforce. More than half of them - 150,000 - work at non-tech firms. This proves that tech jobs are infused throughout the city's diverse economy, from financial services and media to retail and fashion. In other words, in a sense, we should not think about tech as a separate sector, but as critical to the success and growth of the entire economy.

In many ways, Citi serves as the perfect example of this framework. Of the nearly 17,000 Citi employees in New York City, an estimated 1,860 - approximately 11% - work in tech-related occupations. And we have thousands of employees around the world who implement technology - from making sure we can communicate internally, to creating new mobile and tablet apps or a new ATM experience - to make sure we can serve our clients, who are increasingly connected digitally.

Jobs, Education and Succeeding in the 21st Century Economy

The report also shows that 44% of tech jobs in New York City don't require a Bachelor's degree and they pay a higher-than-average wage. The report recommends that the city create workforce development programs that provide training in the skills required to attain good tech jobs, and expand efforts to support computer literacy and technical programs in the city's primary education system.

As cities push to become even more digital and embrace the tech ecosystem, we hope this study and its revelations provide useful insight. Tech will continue to be a core part of a diverse economy. Those cities that recognize and support this trend will enjoy a competitive advantage in the years to come. View Report.