By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — New York City's economy may be on an upswing, but not everyone is reaping the benefits, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
While the median pay of the city's managerial workers rose to $990 a week earlier this year, up 11 percent from the same period in 2007, the median pay for the city's non-managerial workers dropped to $472 a week, down 10.4 percent from three years ago, James A. Parrott, of the Fiscal Policy Institute told the paper.
In addition to the direct effect on workers and their families, Parrott warned that the disparity could mean trouble for consumer spending in New York’s neighborhoods, according to the Times.
Indeed, restaurant industry expert, Steven Kamali, warned that neighborhood eateries continued to struggle, as the city's top restaurants increased business by 10 to 15 percent compared to last year, the paper said.
“The 25 most-coveted restaurants in New York are doing an incredible amount of business,” Kamali told the Times. “On the other side of the argument, what we’re finding is the local neighborhood restaurants are taking the brunt of the pain.”
Still, the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg chose to focus on the good news highlighted in the Times article, including the fact that the city's unemployment rate has dipped slightly below the national average to 9.4 percent.
"While the city still has much work to do to ensure all New Yorkers see the benefits of a growing economy," a statement on the mayor's website said Tuesday. "[T]he data is clear: New York City's economy is moving in the right direction."
