• LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

716-285-9141

Niagara USA Chamber

Niagara County’s Chamber: Advocacy. Opportunity. Choice.

Niagara USA Chamber
  • About Our Chamber
    • A Message From Our President…
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
      • Officers
      • Executive Leadership
      • Board of Directors
    • News
      • Chamber News
      • Legislative News
      • Members in the News
    • Partners & Affiliates
      • Niagara USA Chamber Resources eBook
      • Niagara Business Organizations
      • Business Resources & Networking
    • Events
    • Calendar
  • Membership
    • Why Join
      • Health Insurance
      • Small Business Support
      • More Benefits & Savings
    • Apply Now
    • Membership Rates
    • Member Directory
    • Members in the News
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Member
    • Network & Learn
    • Join a Committee
    • Sponsor or Advertise
  • Advocacy
    • Development Issues
    • Tax Issues
    • Energy Policies
    • Local Assets
    • Health Insurance
    • Legislative News
    • Elected Representatives for Niagara County
  • Niagara County at a Glance
    • Weather
    • Relocating to Niagara County
    • Visiting Niagara

Buffalo News: Region loses jobs for third straight month in October

  • By Elena Woods
  • November 16, 2012
  • Legislative News

Region loses jobs for third straight month in October

But small losses show weakness in economy

The Buffalo Niagara job market stayed stuck in the mud during October, but local economists think the numbers are a bit too gloomy.

The monthly jobs report issued Thursday by the state Labor Department indicated that the region lost 100 jobs during the 12 months from October 2011 to October 2012, marking the third consecutive month that the region has lost jobs.

While October’s job loss was tiny, the Labor Department also revised its September job numbers to indicate that the job losses that month were worse than initially reported. The region lost 1,300 jobs during the 12-month period that ended in September, more than triple the 400-job loss that was initially reported.

The job losses, while small, are a concerning sign that the region’s recovery from the recession, which began with unusual vigor, has run out of steam over the past year. It also comes at a time when the rest of the state is adding jobs at a modest pace, and so is the country as a whole.

But some local economists think there is a glitch in one part of the jobs report that is making the local job market appear weaker than it really is.

“The numbers appear to be slowing,” said John Slenker, the Labor Department’s regional economist in Buffalo. “But I think the labor market is actually a little better than the numbers are saying.”

Gary D. Keith, M&T Bank’s chief economist, agrees.

“I’m leery of it,” Keith said of the declining job trend, following a talk to members of the Niagara USA Chamber on Thursday morning, before the latest job numbers were released.

Keith, noting the wide swings in some of the job survey’s industry groups such as professional and business services employment, said he is cautious about reading too much into the monthly job and unemployment numbers. He predicted that the region’s unemployment rate, which has been steadily rising this year to a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent in September, could be revised downward once updated data is released by the state in March.

If that happens, the biggest change likely will center around how many jobs are in an obscure category called administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services. In a region where most segments of the job market vary only by a couple of percentage points over the course of the year, the administrative and support category stands out because the data reports a whopping 19.1 percent decline in the segment’s jobs – a total of 6,500 positions.

“If you think some of these numbers don’t make sense, you’ve got a lot of company,” Keith said, noting that officials from the Cuomo administration also have questioned some of the jobs data. “Don’t be surprised if they’re not revised in the coming year.”

But those revisions won’t be done until March 2013. Until then, the local job numbers will continue to be skewed by what the economists view as the questionable administrative and support services employment data.

If the economists are right and the 6,500-job decline is revised to show fewer jobs lost, then Slenker thinks the updated statistics will show that the local job market is growing at an annual rate of somewhere around 0.5 percent, only about a third to a half of the nationwide growth rate, but still a major psychological shift from stagnancy and slow decline to slow growth.

As it stands now, however, the three-month streak of job losses is the region’s longest in 2½ years and is a major reversal of the pattern the local job market had followed since the recession ended three years ago. While the Buffalo Niagara region initially enjoyed job growth more robust than many other areas, the employment market has consistently slowed to a crawl over the past year, to the point where the recent job losses make Western New York one of the weakest job markets in the state.

The 100-job decline in October amounts to a drop of less than 0.1 percent and indicates that the early fall job market was close to stagnant.

The October job numbers also portrayed a widely contrasting job market, with pockets of strength offset by areas with significant weakness. Construction remains robust, adding 600 jobs from October 2011 to October 2012, a 2.7 percent increase. Manufacturing continued its post-recession rebound, gaining 400 over the past year, a 0.8 percent increase. The trade sector also expanded, with employment in wholesale trade rising 3.3 percent and retail trade jobs growing 1.5 percent.

But overall, the service sector, which had been the engine for the region’s job growth for most of the past decade, is struggling, with the number of service jobs sliding by 0.2 percent overall. That drop was fueled by a 2.2 percent decline in jobs within the financial sector and a 3 percent drop in leisure and hospitality positions. Both sectors previously had been sources of strength for the local job market. Professional and business services jobs tumbled by 6.8 percent, and it is the size of those declines that has raised Keith’s skepticism.

The local job losses stood in stark contrast with the modest job growth taking place throughout the country and across the state. Nationwide, job growth during October hit 1.4 percent, without adjusting for seasonal factors, while it was slightly stronger in New York, at 1.5 percent.

Among the state’s 14 major metro areas, only Elmira, with a 1.5 percent drop in jobs, and Binghamton, with its 1.1 percent decline, were weaker than the Buffalo Niagara region during October.

The pace of job growth varied widely across rural portions of Western New York, ranging from a 1.8 percent jump in Cattaraugus County to a 0.8 percent decline in Wyoming County. In between, the job market was flat in Allegany and Genesee counties, and the number of jobs slid by 0.6 percent in Chautauqua County.

…

Stagnancy settles in

Job growth rate for Buffalo Niagara and other metropolitan areas from October 2011 to October 2012:

Ithaca +3.7 percent

New York City +2.6 percent

Rochester +0.7 percent

Albany +0.7 percent

Utica-Rome +0.6 percent

Nassau-Suffolk +0.5 percent

Syracuse +0.1 percent

Buffalo Niagara Unchanged

Binghamton -1.1 percent

Source: State Labor Department

email: drobinson@buffnews.

 

Source: Robinson, D. (November 15, 2012). Region loses jobs for thirs straight month in October. Retrieved from http://www.buffalonews.com

Share

Related Posts

Member Spotlight – Aquarium of Niagara

February 26, 2021

What You Need To Know And Do About The Cares Act

March 31, 2020

COVID-19 Business Resources

March 19, 2020

Niagara USA Chamber Postpones Awards Gala

March 12, 2020

Recent Posts

  • Zoominar with Niagara USA Chamber and Bene-Care Agency WNY
    March 3, 2021 - 12:46 pm
  • Member Spotlight – Aquarium of Niagara
    February 26, 2021 - 11:16 am
  • Niagara USA Chamber Golf Classic
    August 5, 2020 - 1:19 pm
  • Copier Fax Business Technologies StayWell Initiative
    May 23, 2020 - 10:34 pm
  • US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces $5,000 Grant Application to Small Business
    April 17, 2020 - 3:27 pm

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • February 2015
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • April 2011

Calendar

November 2012
M T W T F S S
« Oct   Dec »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  

Categories

  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Chamber News
  • Community News
  • Events
  • Events
  • Featured
  • Legislative News
  • Members in the News
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Legislative News
  • Buffalo News: Region loses jobs for third straight month in October

Privacy Policy

© 2019 - Niagara USA Chamber

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • About Our Chamber
  • Membership
  • Get Involved
  • Advocacy
  • Niagara County at a Glance
  • About Our Chamber
    • A Message From Our President…
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
      • Officers
      • Executive Leadership
      • Board of Directors
    • News
      • Chamber News
      • Legislative News
      • Members in the News
    • Partners & Affiliates
      • Niagara USA Chamber Resources eBook
      • Niagara Business Organizations
      • Business Resources & Networking
    • Events
    • Calendar
  • Membership
    • Why Join
      • Health Insurance
      • Small Business Support
      • More Benefits & Savings
    • Apply Now
    • Membership Rates
    • Member Directory
    • Members in the News
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Member
    • Network & Learn
    • Join a Committee
    • Sponsor or Advertise
  • Advocacy
    • Development Issues
    • Tax Issues
    • Energy Policies
    • Local Assets
    • Health Insurance
    • Legislative News
    • Elected Representatives for Niagara County
  • Niagara County at a Glance
    • Weather
    • Relocating to Niagara County
    • Visiting Niagara
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

716-285-9141