New York is losing jobs at an “alarming” rate and unemployment continues to be a concern in Niagara County, according to an economic report released Monday by an advocacy group for counties across the state.

Economy Watch, a new report being generated monthly by the state Association of Counties, concludes the state lost 41,800 private-sector jobs between between November 2007 and November 2008. The report also predicts — based on layoff notices that must be filed with the state by employers with more than 100 employees — that as many as 12,000 more jobs are expected to be lost during the first three months of 2009.

“The state of our current economy is floundering and foreboding,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario.

NYSAC represents all 62 counties in New York on issues of concern in Albany. The group’s new report included full month numbers from November 2008 and layoff announcements through December 31, 2008. It also featured data from business cycle indicators, the consumer price index, job growth and layoff numbers, consumer and business confidence indicators, as well as local housing prices and sales activity. Monday’s edition was delivered to Albany lawmakers in anticipation of Wednesday’s State of the State address by Gov. David Paterson.

“What we gather out of this report is that the state has lost more than 41,000 private-sector jobs from a year ago,” said NYSAC President and Yates County Administrator Sarah Purdy. “This is an alarm that must be heeded.”

Niagara County Legislator Richard Updegrove, R-Lockport, the chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, noted the county’s November unemployment rate was actually down from the first quarter of 2008 when it was 7.4 percent. Updegrove said the county continues to invest in programs intended to lure businesses and jobs to the area, including marketing programs aimed at investors from Canada and water-starved states in the southern U.S. He noted that several 2008 projects have not fully materialized, but are expected to begin full production this year. He said a pair of Niagara Falls projects — Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. and Ashland Advanced Materials — are expected to add several hundred new jobs in the coming months. Updegrove said he believes there is reason for “guarded optimism” about the county’s future employment picture.

“I think we need to continue to reach out to those companies that might have an interest in locating here,” he said.

Paul Parise, Niagara County’s director of Employment and Training, described the county’s unemployment situation as an unfortunate sign of the economic times. While he said unemployment rates in Western New York are typically higher than the state and national averages, he noted that November’s county rate of 7.1 percent was at least 1 percent higher than normal. He noted that several of the county’s larger companies, including Delphi Corp. in Lockport and TeleTech in Niagara Falls, have announced layoffs or imposed salary reductions in the past year. In recent weeks, he said business has been booming at the county’s one-stop employment office at the Trott Access Center in Niagara Falls where the office is now seeing an average of 1,000 job seekers per month.

The good news, according to Parise, is that there are jobs available locally, especially in the health care industry. He also pointed to hiring being done at Globe and Ashland as reasons for optimism about the future.

“I think if people are realistic with the skills they bring and with what the economy has to offer, there are jobs to be found,” he said.



Unemployment numbers

The Economy Watch report lists Niagara County as one of 22 counties in New York with November 2008 unemployment rates higher than the state and national averages.

Also in the report:

• Niagara County’s unemployment rate rose in November 2008 to 7.1 percent, up from 5.1 percent from the same month one year earlier.

• The state’s November 2008 unemployment rate was 5.9 percent

• Nationally, the average for the same month was 6.5 percent

— Source, state Department of Labor