Doing Business

With a 2004 gross metropolitan product of $126.3 billion, Long Island has the 17th largest metropolitan area economy in the nation. The region’s economic output also exceeds that of many countries, including South Africa, Argentina, Venezuela, and Israel. In large part, the reason for Long Island’s remarkable record of economic growth over the last fifty years has been its exceptional workforce. Somewhat more highly educated, more productive, and younger than in many competing regions around the country, the Island’s workforce has attracted, and still attracts, businesses of all kinds.

Long Island suffered an economic body blow in the late 1980s and early 1990s when defense downsizing cost the region about 100,000 jobs, as well as its major manufacturing industry. Many places never recover from an economic reversal of that magnitude. Long Island, however, recovered so quickly and so convincingly that its reversal of fortune came to be known among economists as the “Long Island Miracle.” The region’s economy became more diversified, more focused on smaller businesses, and consequently, even stronger and more resilient than it had ever been.”

To learn more about Long Island's key industries, click here