Bensonhurst’s labor force is a dynamic aspect of the neighborhood, changing along with the neighborhood’s demographic trends. While most residents of Bensonhurst travel outside of the neighborhood to work, with a total of 31,893 jobs held by residents in zip code 11214, there are a number of workers who are actually employed within this mostly residential neighborhood. In 2011, there was a total of 11,160 jobs in the neighborhood itself.

The majority of Bensonhurst’s workers are aged 30 to 54 (55.3%), with the second largest age group being 29 or younger. 39.9% of these workers have a monthly income of $1,250 or less, followed by the 38.4% who make $1,251 to $3,333 per month. 21.7% of the workers make more than $3,333 per month.

The top three industries for jobs in Bensonhurst in 2011 were Health Care and Social Assistance (31% of all jobs in the neighborhood), Retail Trade (24.1%), and Accommodation and Food Services (6.9%).

The racial demographics of the workers of Bensonhurst reflects the general racial demographics of the neighborhood in some ways: the majority of workers is White (62.6%), with a large percentage of Asian workers as well (15.1%). But the racial makeup of Bensonhurst’s labor force differs from the racial makeup of its residents in one way: the second highest percentage of people who work in Bensonhurst are Black or African American (20.5%), even though only 0.7% of residents of the neighborhood are Black or African American.

Source: Local Employment Dynamics (LED) U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap Application

Source: Census FactFinder NYC Department of City Planning