New York posted another year of industrial job losses, according to the 2015 New York Manufacturers Register, a manufacturers' database and directory published by Manufacturers' News Inc. (MNI). MNI reports the state lost 6,959 manufacturing jobs or 1 percent from September 2013 to September 2014, in contrast to the 1.3-percent national average gain as reported by the Labor Department for the same time period. New York is now home to 16,395 manufacturers employing 717,018 workers.
A five-year analysis of MNI data shows industrial jobs in New York have fallen 11.8 percent since September 2009, while government statistics reveal manufacturing employment in the U.S. overall climbed 4.9 percent during the same time period.
"High business costs and global competition have made it difficult for New York manufacturers to climb back from the recession," says Tom Dubin, MNI president. "However, the state remains a major manufacturing hub, boasting an educated workforce, diverse economy and access to capital."
The state's losses were spread out across several industrial sectors, including primary metals, fabricated metals, lumber/wood, paper products, furniture/fixtures, instruments/related products and rubber/plastics. The chemicals industry was the only sector to post a gain.
Layoffs at Kodak, Tyson Foods and Lockheed Martin contributed to the state's losses, as well as several plant closures, including an Alcoa facility in Massena, Philips Lighting in Bath, Belden Inc. in Horseheads, Worthington Industries in Medina and Coviden's medical device plant in Argyle.
Printing/publishing remains the state's largest sector by employment with 111,600 jobs. Industrial machinery and equipment ranks second with 78,790 jobs, while electronics was third with 70,404 jobs.
Employment in food products remained steady over the year, helped by the state's fast-growing yogurt industry. Several yogurt and dairy facilities have announced expansions, including FAGE yogurt in Johnstown, O-At-Ka Milk Products in Batavia, Cayuga Milk Products in Aurelius and yogurt maker Emmi Roth USA in Penn Yan.
The New York metro area, including the New York City exurbs, accounts for 394,800 manufacturing jobs, with no significant change reported. The western region of the state has the second-most industrial jobs with 175,827 workers. Central New York is home to 96,088 industrial workers, while the Upstate/Adirondack region saw an increase of 1.9 percent over the past 12 months and currently has 50,303 of the state's industrial jobs.
For more information, visit www.manufacturersnews.com.
