NEW YORK CITY-The automatic spending cuts from what has been known as the sequester will wipe out two months of job gains and will impact the most vulnerable in New York City, according to a Merrill Lynch economist.
“It will set the economy back a few months in the job market,” Ethan Harris, co-head of global economics research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, tells The Post. “The national job market recovery has been modest, and it has been weaker locally in New York.” Currently, New York City's unemployment rate stands at 8.8%.
Nationwide, Harris says the sequester will cause the loss of approximately 300,000 jobs.
“You get pockets of pain in the local economy,” Harris says. “The programs being cut pretty hard are probably those that shouldn't be cut—ones serving the most vulnerable.” In addition to cuts in social service and job search oriented programs, analysts contend the ripple effects from the sequester will be felt in many other sectors of the local economy in terms of spending cuts and lower business confidence. See story in the New York Post.
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