Official: Average Wall Street bonus rises to nearly $173,000

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's state comptroller says the average bonus paid to securities industry employees in New York City grew 2 percent last year to nearly $173,000.

Thomas DiNapoli says according to his office's analysis, that's the largest average Wall Street bonus since the 2008 financial crisis, though the industry was slightly less profitable last year.

According to the report, released today, the securities industry has been profitable for six consecutive years. It has added 2,300 jobs in the past year, amounting to 167,800 workers in New York City. That's still 11 percent less than before the crisis.

Pretax profits for broker/dealer operations of some 200 New York Stock Exchange members — the traditional measure of profitability for the securities industry — totaled $16 billion last year, down $700 million from 2013.