By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
The CNY employment statistics are looking good.
“Job growth has been particularly strong in private health care and social assistance, which saw a 6.4% rise in its employment level over the year ending in November 2024,” said Karen Knapik-Scalzo, associate economist with the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Research & Statistics in Syracuse. “Within private health care and social assistance, hiring has been strong at doctor’s offices, hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities.
“Employment in the construction sector has grown by 3% over the year as the demand for workers increases due to retiring baby boomers, the need to replace aging infrastructure — roads, bridges, water pipes — and the I-81 project.
“Hiring has also been brisk at professional and business services firms and among accommodation and food services businesses. The government sector also added 800 jobs within the Syracuse metro area over the 12 months ending in November 2024, with particular strength in the state government educational services portion.”
The professions high in demand include skilled trades.
Elvis Mehmedovic, franchise owner of Express Employment in Syracuse, mentioned carpentry, plumbing, electrical repair, HVAC work, gas line repair and home repair and renovation as hot professions, which aligns with Scalzo’s assessment.
“There’s probably 10 jobs per one individual,” Mehmedovic said. “There’s every company that wants HVAC work done. Lots of new buildings are going up and plenty of old buildings need to be renovated. So many of the houses in Onondaga County were built in the ‘60s and ‘70s. There are tens of thousands of those. There’s not enough support in trades. There’s no area in the trades that has too many.”
Another high-demand field is anything in the medical industry, from entry-level to specialty doctors.
An already understaffed employment sector, the pandemic compounded the problem as about 20% of healthcare workers quit during the pandemic, amounting to half a million people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Home care has been short-staffed for a decade or two,” Mehmedovic offered as an example.
The aging baby boomer generation is worsening the problem both by the droves of people from that age demographic retiring and also because of their increasing need for medical care as they age.
The transportation and trucking industry is yet another sector for which Mehmedovic said employers need more workers. One reason is the continued growth in online sales and home delivery. During the pandemic, both of these saw phenomenal increases and many consumers continue to prefer shipped goods over shopping in person. As Gen X and boomers age, this trend will likely continue because they enjoy the convenience of ordering online.
Suzanne Benderski, chief of staff at CTS in Liverpool, sees advanced manufacturing and construction as industries that are growing and needing more workers.
“We expect to see growth in all areas over the next few years,” Benderski said. “Micron’s arrival should drive growth in all sectors.”
Micron’s new microchip plant in Clay will require workers skilled in the industry as well as a plethora of jobs related to the plant’s supply chain and administrative support. Estimates range from 9,000 people directly working at Micron to 50,000 workers in the CNY area indirectly related to the new plant’s presence.
