NEW YORK (AP) — The mean Wall Street bonus dropped slightly last year to $176,500 as the industry hired more people and adopted a “more careful approach” to payment, New York state’s comptroller announced Tuesday.
The mean bonus for workers in New York City’s securities sector dropped 2% from $180,000 in 2022. The small decrease occurred despite an increase of 1.8% in Wall Street profits last year, according to the yearly estimate from Thomas DiNapoli, the state’s comptroller.
DiNapoli’s office stated the small reduction could be linked to the payment strategy as more workers entered the securities industry.
Last year, the industry employed 198,500 people in New York City, up from 191,600 in 2022.
For 2023, the bonus pool was $33.8 billion, which is mostly unchanged from the previous year.
The mean Wall Street bonus reached a historic high of $240,400 in 2021, compared to a relatively low figure of $111,400 in 2011.
Wall Street is a significant source of state and city tax revenue, accounting for an estimated 27% of New York state’s tax collections and 7% of collections for the city, as per the comptroller.
“While these bonuses impact income tax revenues for the state and city, both budgeted for larger declines so the impact on projected revenues should be limited,” DiNapoli said in a prepared statement. “The securities industry’s continued strength should not overshadow the broader economic picture in New York, where we need all sectors to enjoy full recovery from the pandemic.”
