Wall Street may lose 36,000 jobs

Joan Gralla – Reuters April 24, 2008

Wall Street, the lifeblood of New York City's economy, could lose over 36,000 jobs because the financial credit crisis has rocked markets and stunned the U.S. economy, estimated James Brown, a labor market analyst with New York state's labor department.

"History suggests it's going to be something of that magnitude," Brown told Reuters, noting Wall Street employment peaked at 200,300 in December 2000, nine months before the September 11, 2001 air attacks.

Losing one in five jobs on Wall Street could have dire consequences for the city's economy.

Brown's estimate was almost double the 20,000 job loss over the next two years that the city's Independent Budget Office forecast in March.