There isn't much about Dryden in the regular edition of today's Ithaca Journal, but their print edition includes their 2006 Outlook sections, and there are some interesting stories there. In Dryden-specific news, it notes Challenge Industries taking over Finger Lakes Fresh, and Stone Travel opening its new office.
In broader county-wide news, there are lots of interesting tidbits. Just to skim the surface, they include:
Ithaca College Professor Elia Kacapyr finds that the county's economy expanded around 2.7% in 2005, adding 1100 jobs, with retail sales growing 12%.(The national economy grew around 4%.) He's predicting 900 new jobs in 2006 and a 10% retail gain, for about a 2% growth rate.
Tompkins County is outpacing most neighboring counties and New York State as a whole in job growth since 1990. Tompkins County's total nonfarm employment went up 21.5%, losing 9% in goods-producing jobs and gaining 25.1% in service-providing jobs. Schuyler, Seneca, and Cayuga counties all had job gains less than Tompkins County, while Steuben, Cortland, Broome/Tioga, and Chemung all lost jobs. The state as a whole had nonfarm employment up 5.2%, good-producing employment down 29.8%, and service-providing up 11.5%.
The top ten forecasted jobs to grow in Tompkins County in 2014 are Medical Assistants, Archivists/Curators, Social and Human Services Assistants, Veterinary Technicians, Biological Technicians, Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Medical Records/Health Information Technicians, Physical Therapist Aides, Glaziers, and Physician Assistants. I've been talking for a while about wanting to make windows and doors when I grow up, so seeing Glazier on there is promising.
There's generally good news about the airport, with more people flying from there, but continued concern about how strong a presence US Airways will be.
Jean McPheeters, President of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, reports that the Census Bureau estimates that the county's population is now 106,000, up from 96,000 in the 2000 census. That may help explain the tightness in the housing market and increased home prices, as well as the construction around Etna and West Dryden.
That's only a tiny bit of what's there. It's definitely a good day to buy the print edition of the Journal if you're interested in the local economy.
Posted by simon at January 27, 2006 8:36 AM in Ithaca Journal , economy