If you have been searching for employment recently in Buffalo you may not be surprised to learn that Forbes magazine has found the city to be the second hardest in the nation (tied with Rochester, NY) to find a job in 2011 with only 11 job openings per 1,000 population. Only New Orleans, which has yet to make a full economic recovery from the Hurricane Katrina disaster, was found to have a tougher job market. The data was collected from US Bureau of Labor Statistics by Indeed.com and considered job openings in the fourth quarter of 2010 with salaries of $ 50,000 or more. While this may not be the most accurate depiction of the job market, it may give a sense of the general employment picture in Buffalo especially for the unemployed.
“Historically, the easiest cities for finding a job thrive on industries that benefit from shifts in the economy or trends, says Forster. And the hardest cities rely on industries that suffer most during economic downturns. The rankings of the easiest and hardest cities for finding jobs confirm his view,” the article states.
While Buffalo has certainly relied on its fair share of dying industries, the city has been increasingly making a name for itself in the healthcare and life sciences industry, much of which is concentrated in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). Last month, campus officials held an event which highlighted the growth and development of the campus which, at 3.4 million square feet currently, is expected to triple in size by 2030 and add thousands more jobs in the process. The campus is a definite bright spot in Buffalo’s future. Past growth, particularly over the previous decade, has even gone beyond predictions.
“The BNMC has far exceeded expectations, fulfilling the 20 year Master Plan developed in 2002 in just eight years,” said David Gamble, Principal of Gamble Associates of Boston, Mass., the BNMC’s master planning consultant. “The growth is truly remarkable, and they have done so in a way that few other medical centers have, as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization.”