Chinatown Flushing: Economy
From Decoding New York
| Introduction |
| Manhattan |
| * Evolution |
| * What's Real |
| * Here v. There |
| * Economy |
| Flushing |
| * Evolution |
| * What's Real |
| * Here v. There |
| * Economy |
| Brooklyn 8th Avenue |
| * Evolution |
| * What's Real |
| * Here v. There |
| * Economy |
| Comparison |
| * Photo Gallery |
| * Sources
|
Flushing’s economy is heavily reliant on the many small business owned by immigrants. These businesses include ethnic restaurants, bakeries, law offices, and, book stores. Many times they not only provide needed goods for the community, but give jobs to the numerous new immigrants coming to the area. The growing strength of Flushing’s economy is directly related to the growing population in the area, which increased 13.5% from 1990 to 2000. Over the last several years employment, wages, and salaries in Flushing have all grown at higher rates than the citywide average. Flushing’s fastest growing sector is the finance and insurance field, which grew by 11.7% from 2003 to 2004. Flushing has several banks on Main Street, with assets totaling 3.7 trillion dollars. The two largest employment sectors in Flushing are health care, which accounted for 40% of the jobs and retail trade, which made up 14%. Another major source of jobs in the area is the food industry, which makes up 8% of the jobs. Flushing’s proximity to mass transportation allows many workers to travel from other places like Sunset Park and Manhattan Chinatown to their jobs in Queens. As with the other Chinatowns, Flushing is known for its underground economy. Many vendors line the streets selling illegal dvds and stolen or fake clothes. Main Street is also home to many small “mini malls” with several shops that sell clothes and electronics at very cheap prices. In the most recent statistics from 2004, Flushing businesses provided almost 34000 jobs and generated 1.2 billion dollars in wages. These numbers show how the largely immigrant driven economy of Flushing is one of New York’s biggest and most important.
