Manufacturing: A Key Player In New York State’s Economy (Still!) Robert B. Ward The Public Policy Institute of New York State

A ‘post-industrial’ economy – not!  Yes, we’ve lost manufacturing jobs  Some even say industrial companies are ‘the employers of yesteryear’  BUT – manufacturing employment trends in New York, relative to other states, are much improved  And it remains especially vital Upstate

Job Trends: New York Is Much Closer to the Nation

We’re more competitive now  We started coming closer to other states’ manufacturing performance after we cut taxes, changed regulatory practices, and cut workers’ comp and energy costs  IBM, Sematech, other projects will create manufacturing jobs of the future

Upstate, manufacturing is especially important Proportion of all jobs based on manufacturing:  Buffalo/Niagara Falls: 44%  Binghamton: 50%  Rochester: 55%  Syracuse: 37%  Upstate average: 50%

And let’s not forget downstate  New York City: 220,000 jobs  Long Island: 103,000  Key sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, are growing in the Empire State  Statewide, 2.4 million jobs depend on manufacturing (800,000 plus 2 additional jobs for every direct one)

Where are the spin-off jobs?  Company suppliers/contractors – e.g., Kodak has 24,000 of its own employees in Rochester, plus 6,000 others who provide services  Health care, government jobs funded by company benefits/employee taxes  Retail, service jobs that depend on employees spending their paychecks

The outlook  Overall economy and value of the dollar will continue to affect U.S. and New York manufacturers  Property taxes are a growing competitive problem in New York  Costs of other taxes, energy, workers comp and other benefits also are key