Gov. George Pataki said winning the Big Blue investment sent the message that New York state, and in this case upstate New York, can compete and win its share of new jobs. IBM is making the largest single private investment in New York s history, and the plant will create 1,000 jobs by 2003. She says the incentives granted to IBM are an example of the state s business climate. New York is targeting technology companies, along with medical equipment, optics, pharmaceuticals and recycling.
Labor markets continue to be tight.
In 1999, New York City had a 2.5 percent employment growth, offsetting slower upstate growth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. New York state had total job growth of 1.8 percent, slightly ahead of New Jersey s 1.7 percent during 1999. Local, regional and state economic development officials are offering a full menu of tax cuts and other incentives to help continue the growth. In mid-2000, legislation was enacted to expand the state s Empire Zones program to add new locations. Since the creation of Empire Zones in 1995, more than 700,000 new jobs have been created.