Morning Read: Glens Falls area lost 500 government jobs last year

Yesterday, we posted the Wall Street Journal’s report that Gov. Andrew Cuomo could slash another 12-15,000 state jobs over the coming year.

Today the Glens Falls Post Star is reporting that in the last year, the Glens Falls region of the North Country alone lost 500 jobs.

The public sector was expected to remain troubled for some time, according to State Labor Market Analyst James Ross.

“I would expect to see (government job losses) continue to rise,” Ross said. He explained that the public jobs sector, which includes public schools, tends to be slower than other employment sectors in reacting to economic trends.

Losing 500 jobs is the equivalent of mothballing a large factory, and state jobs tend to be relatively highly paid.  The big story over the next year may be whether the region’s private sector can continue to absorb these workers.

According to the Post-Star, private sector job growth was robust enough in the Glens Falls area that the unemployment rate rose only a tiny fraction over this time last year.  Read the full article here.

Tags: economy, employment, nys budget, politics