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NYS Comptroller: Report Shows Uneven Job Growth In Upstate NY

There have been improvements in the economy of upstate New York over the last several years, but that progress has been uneven.

That’s a main point of  a new report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office that looks at upstate employment trends from 2009 through this past June.

The report from Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says that as of this past June, upstate had regained 79 percent of the jobs lost during and after the recession.

But it also shows that upstate still lags behind downstate New York and the nation overall.

The comptroller’s report shows that the Capital Region saw the strongest job growth over the seven year period, with the Finger Lakes (including the Rochester area), coming in with the second-biggest gain in total employment, up about 9,500 jobs.

The report also shows that upstate’s largest employment growth was in the leisure and hospitality sector. But in the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier, the largest numbers of new jobs were in the professional and business services sector.

Most upstate regions saw wage growth that outpaced inflation during the period, and the Finger Lakes had the highest average annual wages among the upstate regions, at just over $63,000.  

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.