Capital Region Has NY’s 3rd Fastest-Growing Total Employment

The Capital Region in 2024 was New York’s third fastest-growing region for jobs – boosted by state government employment that climbed to a 16-year high, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) of new Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data from the New York Department of Labor.

Region Performance

In 2024, the eight-county Capital Region had 523,795 total employees in both the public and private sectors. That marked an increase of 4,691 jobs from the previous year, or 0.9 percent. Among New York’s 10 economic development regions, the Capital Region had the third fastest jobs growth rate, trailing the Hudson Valley (1.1 percent) and New York City (2.3 percent).

Public Sector Employment

Nearly three quarters (70 percent) of the Capital Region’s 2024 job gains stemmed from government. Its private sector employment increased by 1,404, or 0.3 percent. During the same period, the region’s state government jobs increased by 2,277, or 4.6 percent, to 52,318. That was highest that state government employment has been in the region since 2008.

While the region’s ranks of state employees have increased by 1.5 percent over the last 5 years, the total wages paid to them increased during that period by 75.6, or $2.8 billion, to $6.5 billion. The average state employee wage rose from $71,352 in 2020 to $123,458 in 2024.

Albany County drove those state government job gains, increasing over the year by 2,275, or 5.7 percent. There were modest state workforce gains in Saratoga (+143), Schenectady (+91) and Warren (+28) counties. Regionwide, local government employment was up by 846 and federal employment was up by 164.

Private Sector Employment

In the private sector, most of the Capital Region’s year-over-year employment gains came from industries still recovering from the pandemic, namely nursing homes (+926), social assistance (+989) and hospitals (+526), as well as the management of companies and enterprises industry (+800). Employment in Capital Region’s manufacturing sector contracted by -590 (-1.7 percent). However, the Capital Region remained the only region in the state with more manufacturing jobs now than before the pandemic in 2019.

Other notable trends include the Capital Region’s arts, entertainment and recreation sector surpassing its pre-pandemic employment level, increasing by 616 to 8,210 jobs in 2024. The region’s architectural and engineering services industry also climbed to its highest level in more than 25 years, increasing by 406 (8 percent) to 5,455.

CEG Initiatives

As a group sponsor for several NYS registered apprenticeship programs in the Capital Region, CEG helps manufacturers and computer/IT companies upskill their workforce by leveraging community college partners, such as HVCC, and online education tools available via Tooling U. CEG currently supports 45 active apprentices at eight Capital Region manufacturers for the following trades: industrial maintenance technician, nanotechnology engineering technician, CNC machinist, and welder. Participating manufacturers include GlobalFoundries, NY CREATES, Plug Power, Ross Precision Machining, Meridian Manufacturing, Greno Industries, Jenks Manufacturing, and Espey Mfg, and Electronics. CEG also helped launch New York’s first software developer registered apprenticeship program.

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