Central New York’s labor force currently numbers more than 391,000 workers and has remained stable over the past ten years. The median annual wage cost in the five-county area is estimated to equal $51,030 which is competitive with national levels and significantly below major metropolitan areas in the northeast. Over 47.6% of the region’s population age 25+ has attained a college associate degree or higher. The skills of the Central New York labor force support a wide range of economic sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, health care, education, professional business services, warehouse and distribution, wholesale and retail trade, construction trades, utilities, and public employment.

Current statistics for the Central New York region show a total of 332,370 jobs, including over 271,100 in the private sector, with an annual private payroll in excess of $20.3 billion. Over 30,000 jobs are based in the manufacturing sector with a total payroll of approximately $2.0 billion. In 2017, the total value of agricultural products sold in the region is estimated at more than $690 million. Annual tourism spending in Central New York exceeds $1.3 billion. A metropolitan statistical area’s economic strength ranking provided by the Policom Corporation shows that the Syracuse MSA ranks 133 out of 384 metropolitan statistical areas in the nation.

Upstate Galisano Children’s Hospital

When seeking to build an educated workforce, companies across the region are well served by 44 institutions of higher education located in Upstate New York, with a combined enrollment of 215,000 students, and several for-profit education centers. Top area schools include Cazenovia College, Clarkson University, Colgate University, Cornell University, Le Moyne College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, University of Rochester, Wells College and members of the SUNY system including Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Cortland, Morrisville, Oswego, the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Institute of Technology, Cayuga Community College, Onondaga Community College, and Tompkins-Cortland Community College. Many of these colleges and universities have made the U.S. News and World Reports annual survey of the nation’s best institutions of higher learning.

Businesses in Central New York are supported by a strong professional business service community and a network of county and regionally-based economic development organizations. These organizations offer a range of services that include financial assistance, tax abatement programs, workforce training, entrepreneurial development, marketing, and site location assistance. Building upon these resources, companies and various development organizations across the region are engaged in efforts to capitalize on developments in the marketplace that could prove beneficial to CNY such as initiatives in biotechnology, alternative energy, information management, health care, national defense, and deployment of advanced infrastructure systems and smart grid technology.

In addition to the information that can be gleaned from the data are the opportunities presented by trying to capitalize on the business operations of major employers in CNY which include such prominent names as Cornell University, Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Wegmans, Lockheed Martin, Constellation Energy Group, the Hartford Financial Group, Welch Allyn, Verizon, Syracuse Research Corporation, Bank of America, Excellus BC/BS, Anheuser Bush, Air Force Research Lab, Cooper Crouse Hinds, Nucor Steel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novelis, Pall Trinity Micro, MONY Group, and Marietta Industries.

In addition to the efforts noted above, support is being given to innovative initiatives being led by major area companies and those associated with the Syracuse Technology Garden, the Syracuse Center of Excellence, and the Central New York Biotechnology Center. Attention is also being directed to work done by the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority and by the NYS Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation, and to the economic opportunities associated with several major developments in Upstate New York. These developments include the ongoing growth of the U.S. Army Fort Drum military installation in the north country, the AMD/ Global Foundries semiconductor manufacturing center at the Luther Forest Technology Park in Saratoga County, the activities associated with the SEMATECH industry research consortium and the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering at the University of Albany. Also noteworthy for its potential impact on CNY are the GE Global Research Center in Schenectady, the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva, the NYS Yogurt Summit, the NYS Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, the New York Power Authority’s offshore wind power and solar initiative, Destiny USA and Turning Stone Resort, and high speed rail. These initiatives, when combined with the region’s strong economic foundation, are expected to help generate the growth of a significant number of new jobs in the years ahead.