Forbes says NY State is Hot for Jobs

BLOG WRITTEN BY JOE BOCK:

Forbes says NY State is Hot for Jobs

http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/15/best-cities-jobs-leadership-careers_cx_hc_0216cityjobs_table.html

Earlier in the year, we talked about the decline of several upstate New York cities due to deindustrialization. Cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Troy, which were vibrant industrial cities at the turn of the 19th century, saw a rapid economic decrease leading to great poverty and unemployment. However, there is hope for several of these cities. John Forbes’ annual “100 Best Cities For Jobs” column saw a great jump for several New York areas, including Albany-Troy-Schenectady, which jumped 5 spots to #30, and Syracuse, which rose 16 spots, to #52. Buffalo rose one spot, to #53, while New York City-North Jersey rose from #96 to #75. To rate these metro areas, Forbes used a system weighting cost of living, unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, and median household income equally.
It is noteworthy that New York’s cities fared so well on the list, while most other Northeastern cities suffered. Camden, NJ dropped from #11 to #27. Edison, NJ dropped from #30 to #40. Allentown-Bethlehem dropped slightly from #39 to #42, while Philadelphia dropped from #50 to #60. Newark, NJ dropped from #49 to #71. Springfield, MA dropped from #73 to #85, and Essex County, MA dropped from #79 to #87. Nassau-Suffolk, NY dropped from #47 to #53. Boston dropped to #83 from #66 just a year ago. Raleigh, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Washington, DC finished 1-5, respectively, as a general trend towards the South was evident.
I myself am puzzled by how these small New York cities were ranked so highly, while the rest of the Northeastern region dropped greatly. One could argue that Forbes’ system of ranking these metro areas is inaccurate, and that only by looking at each individual criteria separately, could one truly find which cities are the best to work in. For example, Buffalo was ranked #1 out of all 100 metro areas for Cost of Living. Most economists would argue that a low cost of living is an indicator of poor economic opportunity. Buffalo is ranked just 71st for median household income, 80th for income growth rank, and 84th for job growth rank. This sounds great for a real estate investor, but not for a young college graduate seeking to climb up the corporate latter.
San Jose, California was ranked 1st in median income, and 100th in cost of living. If one is being paid the highest salary in San Jose, it would not matter that the cost of living is so high. However, San Jose’s high unemployment rank (79th), income growth rank (68th ) and job growth rank (98th) allow it to finish at the bottom of the charts, at #91.
While Forbes’ rankings are not completely accurate and fair, they do show that there is hope for renewed prosperity in the Central New York region. Albany is ranked 11th in the country for unemployment, and 39th in median income. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown is ranked 19th for unemployment, and 18h for median income. Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse rank 1st, 2nd, and 4th, respectively, for cost of living. Although this is not always a sign of economic prosperity, it is often good for a young professional seeking to begin work and live inexpensively. Cheap land could also draw businesses in. It will be interesting to see if workers and businesses follow Forbes’ predictions, and turn to New York State.

BLOG WRITTEN BY JOE BOCK