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Buffalo Ranks 39th in Private-Sector Job Growth 
 

by G. Scott Thomas

 Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Buffalo continues to outperform a majority of the nation's major markets in a key measure of economic strength.

The two-county Buffalo metropolitan area added 8,000 private-sector jobs between July 2010 and the same month this year, according to figures released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That puts Buffalo in 39th place among the nation's 100 biggest metros. Eighty-six of those markets registered employment gains in the latest report, while 14 suffered declines.

Click here for a database with the latest breakdowns for all 100 markets.

The New York City area, which includes parts of Downstate New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, posted the largest increase in raw numbers, adding 83,000 private-sector jobs between July 2010 and July 2011. The runners-up were Houston (up 67,900 jobs), Dallas-Fort Worth (up 67,400) and Boston (up 59,700).

Ogden, Utah, fared the best in percentage terms, expanding its private-sector employment base by 6.0 percent in 12 months. Next was Worcester, Mass., with a gain of 4.2 percent.

Atlanta, with a decline of 12,500 private-sector jobs, absorbed the biggest hit among the 14 markets that lost employment. Richmond came next with a drop of 9,900.

The following are the national private-sector rankings for Upstate New York's five major markets, followed by their employment changes since July 2010:

• 28. Rochester, up 11,200

• 39. Buffalo, up 8,000

• 41. Albany, up 6,900

• 75. Syracuse, up 1,600

• 87. Poughkeepsie, down 100