State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office has issued a predictably grim assessment of the city's securities industry going forward. Here's the take on job losses, which could rattle through real estate and beyond in 2009:
As of October 2008, the securities industry in New York City had contracted by 8.7 percent. A 20 percent reduction would translate into a loss of nearly 38,000 jobs in the securities industry. We expect to see additional losses, although on a smaller scale, in the banking, credit, and insurance sectors. In total, the financial services sector in New York City could lose as many as 48,000 jobs.
Here's the full report in PDF.