Ithaca gains jobs; Binghamton, Elmira lose

Ithaca's job growth since the end of the Great Recession in 2008 has largely been fueled by growth in education and health-related jobs.

Meanwhile, Elmira's and Binghamton's job losses can be largely attributed to a swoon in the region's once-dominant manufacturing sector and ripple impacts from manufacturing's contraction.

November job numbers from the New York State Department of Labor show continued growth in Tompkins County, while Binghamton and Elmira struggle to emerge from an at least eight-year decline.

Tompkins County gained 1,500 private sector jobs year-over-year; Elmira lost 700 and 300 are gone in Binghamton.

Since 2008, Tompkins County recorded a 7,900 increase in private sector jobs, with 6,300 of those attributed to the education and health services sector, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Labor.

Of Elmira's 2,300 job loss since 2008, 1,500 can be traced to cutbacks in manufacturing.

Similar numbers are apparent in Binghamton, where 6,900 of the region's 7,900 job loss can be attributed to manufacturing.

Long dependent on manufacturing — in the 1980s, 40 percent of the Binghamton region jobs were in the production sector — both Elmira and Binghamton have long been attempting to diversify their economies to become less dependent on manufacturing. But the legacy has been hard to shake, and the impacts from its long decline — marked by sizable cutbacks at IBM Corp. — have taken a toll as both record population losses.

December's numbers in Binghamton are expected to show improvement as the initial impacts of hiring at the Dick's Sporting Goods distribution center in Conkin are recorded. The company hired its first wave of 200 to begin operations at the new warehouse. At the same time, however, the first wave of layoffs — 161 — at the Sanmina circuit board plant in Owego will hit the books, with plant closure expected in 2018.

Elmira too, using an influx of state assistance, has been attempting to seed growth in downtown and across Chemung County with fledgling enterprises developing new technologies.

Expansion of Tioga Downs from a slot machine parlor to a full-fledged casino has largely contributed to a 200 job gain in the leisure and hospitality category in the Binghamton region, which includes Broome and Tioga counties.