Poverty: Trends to Watch for the Future of NYC
“Before the coronavirus pandemic ravaged New York City and spurred double-digit unemployment rates, poverty was on the decline.
The 2019 rate of 17.9% was the city’s lowest since the count began — down from 20.7% in 2013, the year before de Blasio took office.
Poverty dropped as the city economy boomed, reaching a record 4.6 million jobs in 2019, coinciding with a rise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. De Blasio released the 2019 figures in December 2021, weeks before leaving City Hall.
Every borough saw a decline in poverty between 2013 and 2019 — save one.”