By Dave Lucas
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Albany, NY – With New Yorkers struggling to keep up with rising gasoline and food prices, new numbers on jobs and the housing market portend more tough times ahead. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas Reports.
The city of Albany recently appeared on a list compiled by the financial website "THE STREET" as one of ten cities that have not been affected by the country's economic problems... but new labor and housing reports underscore the fact things have a way to go before we can say the economy of the city and of the upstate area in general has returned to "normal". Capital Region Labor market analyst James Ross says unemployment rates for New York State are down.
Ross notes the 5-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy area added a net of 1,200 private-sector jobs from April 2010 to April 2011.
Dan Moran, president and founder of Next-Act of Colonie says job posting declined 7 per cent last week, on the heels of a huge 21 per cent increase the week before that. Job Postings came in at 39-hundred the past week and Moran says employers continue reporting "robust hiring plans".
When it comes to housing, The number of closed sales in April fell 38 percent year-to-year, according to numbers released Thursday by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors. Jim Bader represents the organization - he pronounces the housing market "SLOW".
Bader concedes that mortgages are more difficult to obtain and the unsteady economy continues to be worrying potential homebuyers.
Home sales in April wer down 53 per cent in Rensselaer County; 41 per cent in Saratoga County; 35 per cent in Schenectady County; 27 per cent in Albany County.
Both Jim Bader and Dan Moran agree the chip-fab industry will play a big role in getting the upstate economy back on solid ground, but the impact will not likely be felt for three or four years.