Well, 2,300 jobs is a start but a drop in the bucket to what is needed here. These stats show just how much of a difference there is from the city to this area. New York City, up 79,800, that is a number we could live with up here.

Buffalo fourth in NY job rankings - Business First of Buffalo:

The Buffalo area ranks fourth in the state — and 126th in the nation — for employment growth, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The local metropolitan area, which includes Erie and Niagara counties, had 547,200 jobs as of August 2007. That was 2,300 more than the August 2006 total of 544,900.

The New York City region set the pace both for the state and the nation, adding 79,800 jobs during the past year. Four Upstate metros, including Buffalo, picked up at least 2,000 jobs.

Here are the year-to-year job-growth figures for the 12 metropolitan areas across the state. Their national ranks are in parentheses:

* New York City, up 79,800 (1st)
* Albany-Schenectady-Troy, up 3,100 (97th)
* Rochester, up 2,400 (124th)
* Buffalo, up 2,300 (126th)
* Poughkeepsie, up 2,200 (137th)
* Kingston, up 1,600 (167th)
* Syracuse, up 1,200 (198th)
* Glens Falls, up 300 (289th)
* Elmira, up 100 (305th)
* Ithaca, no change (312th)
* Utica-Rome, no change (312th)
* Binghamton, down 400 (343rd)

Seven U.S. markets added at least 50,000 jobs between August 2006 and the same month this year.

Dallas-Fort Worth came the closest to New York City, picking up 78,800 jobs. It was followed by Houston (up 64,400), Seattle (up 57,600), Atlanta (up 52,900), Phoenix (up 51,600) and California’s Riverside-San Bernardino area (up 51,300).

Detroit ranked last among the nation’s 367 metros, losing 22,000 jobs during the past year. Atlantic City, N.J., was the runner-up with a decline of 3,100.