New York Leads Boston in Tech Job Growth; Google, Wayfair at Top

Where is all the technology talent flowing in the Northeast?

If you look at Internet and digital media companies, New York City has the edge over Boston at the moment. New York registered a 3.2 percent increase in those tech jobs last quarter, while job growth in Boston fell to 1.3 percent—the lowest it’s been in the past two years.

That’s according to the latest quarterly report from Cook Associates, an executive search firm. The survey covered 369 companies in New York (where 1,120 net jobs were added) and 193 companies in Boston (225 jobs added); all companies in the survey had at least 10 employees.

For 2013 overall, New York’s Internet and digital media companies saw an 18 percent increase in jobs. In Boston, the growth was 12 percent.

Here’s the quarterly breakdown for 2012 and 2013:

NY vs. Boston in Internet and digital media jobs (image: Cook Associates)

In looking over the numbers for the past two years, a couple things stand out. First, Boston hasn’t led New York in digital-jobs growth since the first quarter of 2012, when it saw an 8 percent increase. And, in general, the fourth quarter of each year has been a low period for new hires (which seems typical).

The overall comparison fits with a broader sense that the economy may be growing—and New York and Boston are rising centers for tech talent—but job growth is still proceeding in fits and starts.

Here are the top 10 job gains made in New York last quarter:

1. Google (191 added, 3,900+ total)
2. Amazon
3. Yelp
4. Facebook
5. Twitter
6. eBay
7. Yahoo
8. Squarespace
9. LinkedIn
10. Priceline

Others with notable gains: MediaMath, Quirky, Complex Media, Percolate, Warby Parker, Birchbox, Etsy, BuzzFeed, Dataminr, PlaceIQ.

Top 10 job gains in Boston last quarter:

1. Wayfair (38 added, 800+ total)
2. HubSpot
3. Amazon
4. Rue La La
5. Constant Contact
6. TripAdvisor
7. TechTarget
8. Care.com
9. Virgin Pulse
10. OwnerIQ (tie)
10. CarGurus (tie)

Others with notable gains: Skyword, Swipely, Fiksu, Kitsy Lane, Localytics, Visible Measures, Nanigans, The Grommet, DraftKings, Placester.

It’s interesting to note that New York’s largest gains were made by companies headquartered elsewhere, whereas locally based companies dominate the Boston hiring scene, with the exception of Amazon. According to Cook Associates, The Seattle e-commerce giant added 87 people in New York (1,050+ total) and 31 in Boston (about 400 total).

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.