The Capital Region’s manufacturing sector employed more than 34,000 workers in 2017 and is projected to add nearly 2,800 over the next 10 years. That 7 percent increase in manufacturing employment far outpaces projections for the nation (0 percent) and state (-5 percent), according to estimates from Economic Modeling Specialists
With a low unemployment rate and high private sector employment, the Capital Region’s economy is continuing to see strong job growth as the number of local job openings continues to rise. Even with employment in the eight-county region’s private sector climbing in 2017 to its highest level in more than
As Manufacturing Day is celebrated this Oct. 5, it is important to remember that while large manufacturers, such as General Electric, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, have helped turn the Capital Region into a thriving manufacturing metro, they are not alone in making the area stand out on the national level.
Business activity in Albany’s greater downtown area continues to rebound, with the number of people working there climbing to an eight-year high, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s ZIP Code Business Statistics. As of 2016, the 12207 ZIP code, which
With the Capital Region’s unemployment rate dipping below 4 percent this spring and summer, the region’s five-year economic development plan, Capital 20.20, is looking more prescient in its emphasis on reaching out to hard-to-reach populations. Hard-to-Reach Populations For the region’s economy to continue to grow, it is imperative for
Last May, the Capital Region’s unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent, ending its third longest steak above that level since 1990 (23 months). Often referred to as a threshold, either psychological or arbitrary, the sub-4 percent rate signals economic strength. However, issues remain about sustainability. Although the region has taken
The Capital Region’s annual job growth was on par with its 10 peer economic regions in 2017. Although the peer regions had lower unemployment rates than the Capital Region, they are also dealing with more austere labor force shortages and greater wage inflation, according to a Center for Economic Growth
The talent pipeline for the Capital Region’s technology sector continued to expand in 2017, with traditional colleges and universities throughout the eight counties seeing a 10.3 percent year-over-year increase in STEM degrees awarded, according to a Center for Economic Growth Analysis of new data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Database
Employment in the Capital Region’s manufacturing sector last year climbed to its highest level since 2001. In 2017, the eight-county region’s manufacturers drove a 1.6 percent annual net jobs gain to an annual average of 34,322. Employment was up 7.6 percent from five years earlier, according to a Center for
The area’s homeownership rate last year rose for the first time since 2010. The uptick in this rate may provide clues to the area’s coinciding increase in its unemployment rate for the first time in six years, though economists remain divided over whether there is not only correlative but also
