William C Dudley: The national and regional economy Remarks by Mr William C Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 7 October 2014. *  *  *  Good afternoon. I am pleased to be here today at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). It is always a pleasure to speak with members of the different communities that make up our region, and it is particularly exciting to have the opportunity to speak with the students and faculty here at the Lally School of Management and Technology. Much of my day in the Albany area has been focused on the intersection of technology, the workforce and innovation, so it is a pleasure to speak with the people who are the future leaders in this fascinating evolution. My meeting with you today is part of our continuing efforts to understand what is going on at the grassroots level of our economy. Earlier on this trip, I met with government and business leaders to learn about some of the challenges the region faces as well as the collaborative efforts being taken to further economic development. I listened to community leaders describe the problems in affordable housing, workforce development and employment facing many in the lower income communities. I was also impressed by the potential innovations in energy production at the GE Global Research Center. These could have large consequences not only in the United States but in developing nations as well.
Regional economic conditions Let me now turn to economic conditions a bit closer to home. While Upstate New York outperformed the nation during the Great Recession, it has now returned to its more typical pattern of modest growth. This is not unexpected as many regions in the Northeast have tended to grow more slowly in recent decades as the population has shifted to other parts of the country and as jobs in the once dominant manufacturing industry have diminished. That being said, some parts of the region are really struggling: Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton and Elmira have all yet to see a meaningful recovery in employment, which is troubling. The Capital region, on the other hand, is a true bright spot. While Upstate New York as a whole has gained back only a little more than half of the jobs lost during the Great Recession, Albany is close to regaining all of the jobs that were lost. Though the Capital region’s public sector has exerted some downward pressure on job growth during the recovery, the education and health care sectors have been an ongoing source of stability and strength for the region. Employment in the education sector has climbed nearly 25 percent since the end of the recession, an increase of around 5,000 jobs, and the health care sector has added about 3,000 jobs.