In fact, according to a recent report by the New York State Department of Labor, most job growth in Western New York will be replacement positions for workers who resign , retire of die. This limited job environment means that competition for the available positions, especially the good ones, will greatly intensify. For example, the Labor Department says that only about 25 percent of the jobs in Western New York require a college degree. Many college graduates, unable to find work, eventually lower their expectations and take jobs that would normally go to less-educated workers. Today, it is not unusual to find secretaries and retail salespeople with college degrees or, at least, two or three years of college.
Race plays a big role in deciding who works and who remains jobless.
Therefore, it is not surprising that in Buffalo's depressed economy, blacks are concentrated in low-paying jobs on the economic margin. N.C. For example, on Monday mornings when I look out of the window of my home, I see white men picking up my garbage. When I go my banking, primarily I see whites in administrative positions, and when I do see blacks, they are usually tellers. When I go to malls, the people I see working in department stores, shops and restaurants are white. When I go to downtown law firms, corporate offices or development agencies, the secretaries are usually white and so, too, are most professionals I encounter.