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Regional Economy Sees Positive Trends
Buffalo, NY – The regional economy saw an upturn in total employment which, when combined with a second consecutive increase in earnings-per-worker, suggests the first moderately positive economic outlook for the region since 2007, according to the latest edition of Western New York Economic News. Published by Canisius College Economics Professors George Palumbo, PhD and Mark Zaporowski, PhD, from the Richard J. Wehle School of Business, Western New York Economic News provides analysis and forecasts of economic trends in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan statistical area and contrasts these trends with those in New York State and the nation.
According to the January 2013 issue, total employment continued the increases begun last year, although the level of total employment is still below its pre-recession level. This is based on an estimate for annual 2012 employment and may be revised in the future, explains Palumbo.
“The extent to which the sale of the HSBC bank network and the reorganization of its support functions have affected total employment is not entirely clear at present,” he says. “One could reasonably assume, however, that the impact of these changes has been negative.”
In addition to the region’s modest employment growth, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages reveals that annual earnings-per-worker in 2011 grew at a rate that was slightly higher than the rate in 2010. Though the 2.48 percent growth rate was lower than the national average (2.76 percent), it remains a positive reflection of an increase in earnings and purchasing power for workers in the region.
“These two factors have a significant impact on people’s perceptions of their personal welfare, as well as their ability to support public services upon which they depend for transportation, safety, health and education services,” adds Zaporowski.
To read the entire January 2013 issue of Western New York Economic News, visit canisius.edu/economics-finance.
One of 28 Catholic, Jesuit universities in the nation, Canisius is the premier private university in Western New York.
