DEMOGRAPHICS / ECONOMY

State and local governments employ nearly a quarter of the Capital Region area workforce, a phenomenon that has brought long-term stability to the economy. A network of service industries, especially restaurants and food stores, law firms, and related businesses, has grown up in Albany to serve the needs of government. Area colleges and universities and an extensive healthcare network also play a dominant role in the region’s economy. The presence of scientific research facilities has stimulated the growth of the high technology industries that are replacing traditional manufacturing industries. The growth of high technology research and technology related industries have given the region surrounding the City of Albany the name Tech Valley.

Technology has, in fact, been targeted as a prime growth industry for Albany and Tech Valley. SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, a university-based research facility for nanotechnology that opened in 2003, received a large portion of the $1.4 billion that the state of New York committed toward the establishment of research centers throughout New York. In a deal that was named one of the top economic development projects of 2002 by Site Selection magazine, Albany successfully attracted a new branch research center of Austin-based International Sematech. Later, Tokyo Electron Ltd., one of the world’s leading makers of computer chip manufacturing equipment, decided to send researchers to Albany instead of its North American headquarters in Austin, Texas. New York City-based International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) followed suit, moving researchers to Albany. GlobalFoundries also decided on the Albany area for its semi-conductor manufacturing facility.  In the past 10 years, economic development efforts have brought more than $9 billion of investment to the City of Albany and the Tech Valley Region.  The City’s healthcare and educational institutions are investing and expanding in unprecedented ways thanks to this regional boom.

Besides its new technology based businesses, Capital Region is also home to major manufacturing and is represented by national companies with divisions located throughout the region, including GE Global Research and Development, and Schenectady GE Energy. The sectors of finance, insurance, and real estate enjoy a strong presence in Capital Region, which is one of the nation’s largest banking cities. As the focal point of a six county greater metropolitan area that encompasses prime East Coast recreational areas, Capital Region is also affected economically by the tourists who flock to the region each year.