For those who work on Wall Street, 2013 was a good year. Average bonuses paid to workers in New York City’s securities industry rose 15% to $164,530. That’s the third highest level on record for average bonuses, according to a report from the comptroller of the state of New York (though still about 14% lower than the 2006 peak of $191,360). Broader bonus pools—from which individual bonuses are drawn—were also up 15% to $26.7 billion.
Other data suggests that pay packages got fatter in other world financial centers such as London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney. A survey of 2,600 financial workers from eFinancialCareers suggested a brisk pickup in bonuses in 2013. London stood out as the financial center where the most respondents reported receiving higher bonuses—roughly 49%, that survey said. But New York was close behind, with 47% saying their bonus rose last year.