Industrial employment in New York fell 2.5 percent over the past 12 months according to the 2011 New York Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. MNI reports New York lost 19,178 industrial jobs between July 2009 and July 2010, a significantly smaller loss than 47,810 jobs MNI reported the state lost over the 2008-2009 survey period.
Manufacturers' News reports New York is now home to 17,315 manufacturers employing 743,764 workers.
"Decreased demand continues to affect New York's manufacturing industries. However we're definitely seeing fewer job losses than we did a year ago, and the state's continued investment in high-tech manufacturing and an educated workforce have improved the outlook," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912.
Bright spots that have emerged for the state include the partnership between India-based Reva Electric Car Company and Bannon Automotive to build a plant in Clay for the production of plug-in vehicles; the expansion of contract chip manufacturer Globalfoundries; the opening of a new Beech-Nut baby food factory in Upstate New York the expansion of the Remington firearms plant in Mohawk Valley; and the opening of Canadian-based Smardt Chiller Group's new facility in Plattsburgh.
Facilities laying off employees over the year included Pfizer's Rouses Point plant; IBM's Hopewell Junction facility; GM's Powertrain engine plant in Tonawanda; Alstom Transportation in Hornell; and Emerson Power Transmission in Ithaca.
Printing and publishing remains New York's top industrial sector by employment, accounting for 120,743 of the state's jobs, down 3.5 percent over the past 12 months. Second-ranked industrial machinery and equipment employs 78,071, down 5.4 percent, while electronics manufacturing accounts for 70,580 jobs, down 4.5 percent over the survey period.
Industrial sectors that lost jobs over the year included furniture/fixtures, down 6.9 percent; transportation equipment, down 6.1 percent; paper products, down 3.7 percent; textiles/apparel, down 3.5 percent; primary metals, down 3.4 percent; rubber/plastics, down 2.3 percent; and lumber/wood, also down 2.3 percent. Food products manufacturing saw a slight gain of 1.1 percent, while fabricated metals also saw a small increase, up 286 jobs.
MNI reports the New York Metro Area, including the New York City exurbs, accounts for 398,754 manufacturing jobs, down 1.4 percent over the past 12 months. The Western region of the state accounts for the second-most industrial jobs with 191,256, down 4.1 percent. Rochester and Buffalo represent 36 percent of these jobs with Rochester home to 45,403 workers, down 6.5 percent over the past year, and Buffalo home to 24,282, down 6.3 percent. Central New York is home to 103,646 industrial workers, down 2.6 percent. The Upstate/Adirondack region accounts for 50,108 of the state's jobs, down 5.2 percent over the past 12 months.
