Wall Street axed 2,000 workers in December as poor profits led companies to slice expenses, the biggest reduction since last summer when the industry released its summer interns, James Brown, a labor market analyst with the New York Department of Labor, said on Thursday.

Because banks and brokerages have announced tens of thousands of layoffs around the globe, but not identified where the layoffs would occur, this trend might continue in New York City because it is a global financial center.

The …