I am getting more and more convinced that politicians that run our state just want upstate and wny to just whither away into the wilderness. They do everything against us and nothing to help us recover. Recover is a word that hes been used around here for 20+ years. Spitzer even called us names during the campaign and all he can do is appoint a temporary economic czar.

We continue to be at the wrong end of every list with no help from our Western New York delegation. All the more reason to split this state and let upstate be upstate.

News from Business Council of New York State

For more information contact: Matthew Maguire, 518-465-7511
Council’s New ‘Economic Growth Index’ Shows New York Trails Most States in Growth in Jobs, Pay, and People

New York earns a grade of ‘D’ on the 50-state comparison; Upstate’s grade is ‘F’

ALBANY, NY — Fully half of the 62 counties in New York State trail the nation in all five core measures of long-term economic growth included in The Business Council’s new Economic Growth Index. New York State as a whole trails the nation in four of the five categories, giving it a grade of D on the new index.

The Council’s new Economic Growth Index ranks the five boroughs of New York City, the state’s 57 other counties and all 50 states according to their growth rate in five key areas between 1995 and 2005: jobs; average wage per job; total personal income; per-capita personal income; and population. The data used in the index come from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and were compiled by The Business Council’s research affiliate, the Public Policy Institute.

Each state’s growth in those areas was compared to the national average. States that matched or exceeded the nation’s growth in all five categories received a grade of A+. States that matched or exceeded the nation’s growth in four, three, two, or one category were graded A, B, C, and D, respectively. States that trailed the nation’s rate of growth in all five categories were graded F.

New York earned a grade of D because its 10-year rate of growth matched or exceeded the national average in only one of the five categories, average wage per job. (The complete Economic Growth Index, with the rankings of all 50 states and all 62 New York State counties, is appended. The complete Economic Growth Index is also available as a two-page PDF file at www.bcnys.org/whatsnew/2007/0829growthindex.pdf.)

Thirty-one of New York’s counties were marked as F—as was Upstate New York as a whole. Twenty-seven states got grades better than New York State’s D. Ten states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming—received grades of A+ on the Economic Growth Index. Three states—Georgia, Maryland, and New Mexico—earned grades of A. There were also eight Bs, seven Cs, and 13 Ds, including New York State. Nine other states—Arkansas, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, and West Virginia—trailed the national average in all five categories and received grades of F.

“This index shows just how badly New York’s economy has performed compared to the nation, and it confirms that Upstate New York is locked in a profound economic crisis,” said Business Council President Kenneth Adams. “Through a long period that includes both ups and downs in the national economy, New York’s economic performance has been awful.”

At the county and borough level, the index shows that:

* There were no grades of A+. In other words, not a single county or borough in New York State matched the nation’s growth rate on all five indicators.

* Only two counties, Putnam County and and Saratoga County, earned grades of A.

* Only two other counties, Suffolk County and Dutchess County, earned grades of B.

* New York City’s overall grade was C. In the suburbs, Suffolk County was a B, and Westchester was a C, while Nassau and Rockland counties both received a D grade.

* Rated overall, Upstate’s slow growth meant a grade of F.

* Of the 52 counties that are part of what economists typically consider Upstate (all counties outside New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties), 27 received a grade of F and 10 received a grade of D.

* The counties that are home to Upstate’s largest cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, and Albany) all showed sub-par growth rates. Erie County, Monroe County, Onondaga County, and Broome County received a grade of F. Albany County was a D.

Here are some facts about New York’s performance in each of the five categories used in the Economic Growth Index.

Job growth: New York’s 10-year job growth rate in the period ending with 2005 was 12.2 percent, well behind the national average of 17 percent. The job-growth rates for New York City (14.3 percent), its suburbs (16.5 percent), Upstate (7.3 percent), read more —>