Policy Brief Focuses on Public Employment in WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo metro economy is slightly more reliant on public sector employment than that of the United States, but less dependent than New York State as a whole and surrounding rural counties, according to the latest Regional Institute Policy Brief focusing on "The Public Sector in WNY."

From prison guards to teachers to firefighters to village clerks, public sector jobs accounted for 16.8 percent of all non-farm employment in Erie and Niagara Counties in 2005, compared to 16.2 percent for the U.S. and 17.3 percent for New York State.

The region's public sector is dominated by local government, especially local schools. More than one-third, or 36.1 percent of all public employees in Buffalo metro, worked for local schools in 2005, while 28 percent worked for local governments.

"Public employment is a provocative topic for this region. It raises issues regarding the desired levels of a variety of services and costs for providing those services," said Kathryn A. Foster, institute director.

"These data provide an objective basis on which to address such issues," she said, adding that the institute's analysis of Buffalo metro relies on data from the federal Current Employment Survey. Figures from the survey -- which categorizes tribal employment as local government -- were adjusted by moving the growing number of tribal casino jobs from the public to the private sector.

Comparisons to other regions, across the state and beyond, show a mixed picture of the region's economic dependence on the public sector.

For instance, relative to the Cleveland and Pittsburgh regions, where public jobs represent, respectively, 13.1 percent and 11.1 percent of total employment, Buffalo metro is more reliant on the public sector.

The area supports proportionally fewer public jobs than Binghamton (21.7 percent), Syracuse (17.9 percent) and, as would be expected, Albany (24.1 percent).

Analysis of employment data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, meanwhile, reveals that the region's rural areas tend to rely on the public sector to a greater extent than urban areas.

In 2005, Western New York's six largely rural counties -- Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming -- averaged 92.6 public employees per 1,000 residents, compared to 78.1 in the region's two urban counties (Erie and Niagara). Local government employment -- almost 40 percent higher for the six rural areas -- was the primary driver behind this gap.

"Some of this is due to fixed local service needs over a smaller population base," said Peter A. Lombardi, institute policy analyst and Policy Brief program director and author.

Public sector jobs are central economic contributors for many of Western New York's rural communities, especially where state and federal facilities bring in dollars from outside of the region," he said, adding that the public sector accounts for 30 percent or more of all jobs in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Orleans and Wyoming Counties.

State prisons, county governments, small city and rural school districts and state colleges stand out as the largest employers in these areas.

"The Public Sector in WNY" is the Regional Institute's sixth brief since it initiated the Policy Brief series in August 2006 to inform regional issues with timely, reliable data and analysis. The series is available online at http://regional-institute.buffalo.edu.

A major research and public service unit of the University at Buffalo, the Regional Institute plays a vital role in addressing key policy and governance issues for regions, with focused analysis of the Buffalo-Niagara region. A unit of the UB Law School, the institute leverages the resources of the university and binational community to pursue a wide range of scholarship, projects and initiatives that frame issues, inform decisions and guide change.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York.