Capital Region’s Labor Force Pulls above Pre-Pandemic Levels

The Capital Region’s labor force last spring for the first time saw its total number of workers rise above pre-pandemic benchmark levels, according to a Center for Economic Growth analysis of preliminary data from the New York State Department of Labor.Last April – the same month the U.S. declared the end of the COVID-19 national emergency – the Capital Region’s labor force totaled 554,200, up 2,400 (0.4 percent) from three years earlier. That was the first time that the region’s labor force rose above its same-month total from pre-pandemic benchmark levels between April 2019 and March 2020. Last May’s labor force was also up by 300 (0.1 percent) to 554,000, when compared to May 2019. In January 2021, the region suffered its steepest labor force decline from the pre-pandemic benchmark levels, declining by 15,200 workers (-2.7 percent) from January 2020.

The spring labor force increase does not mean the workforce shortage is behind the region. The Capital Region’s labor force averaged 6,833 fewer workers (-1.2 percent) in the first quarter of 2023, when compared to the same period three years earlier. Further, the Hudson Valley and Long Island regions in spring 2022 both saw their labor forces exceed pre-pandemic benchmark levels, only to have their number of workers fall below those levels in the summer (for the former) and fall (for the latter). Those two regions, along with the Central New York region, last spring also saw their labor forces rise above the pre-pandemic levels.

CEG INITIATIVES

CEG has a decades-long tradition of supporting the Capital Region’s tech industries. CEG consistently represents the Capital Region at semiconductor industry events worldwide. CEG is also serving  as a group sponsor several high tech apprenticeship programs, maintenance technicians at GlobalFoundries and  software developers. CEG also promotes the region’s high tech industries, including R&D to Commercialization and  Advanced Electronics at conferences and other events worldwide, such as Semicon West. that highlight the strength and size of the advanced electronics R&D and manufacturing sector.

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