fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

One job at a time

by Geddy Sveikauskas
April 14, 2016
in Business, Economy
0

microjob

As large businesses continue to shrink, smaller ones become even more important to the American economy. Federal 2012 census statistics counted 4267 establishments in Ulster County with fewer than 20 employees each. In 2000, the same count of small establishments had shown 3950. That’s an average of about two and a quarter such small new enterprises a month. Not bad, though not great, either.

The bulk of the growth in Ulster County establishments came in firms with fewer than five employees, which increased by 299. In percentage terms, these establishments had accounted in the year 2000 for 61.11 per cent of the total number of establishments. By 2012, the latest year for which comparable figures are available, the proportion of very small establishments had increased a couple of percentage points to 63.12.

The pattern was similar in the thriving New York City labor market, where the percentage of very small establishments jumped from 63.9 per cent in 2000 to 66.7 per cent in 2013. According to a report released this month by the Center for an Urban Future, the New York metropolitan area had a higher percentage of businesses with less than 20 employees than all but one of the nation’s 363 metro regions. “Much of this [growth in the number of businesses] is the result of a spectacular spike in entrepreneurial ventures, ranging from digital startups and artisanal food manufacturers to new retail and service firms, like restaurants, wine stores and healthcare clinics,” read the report. “Indeed, nearly twice as many new businesses were incorporated in the city in 2011 than in 1991.”

Turning establishments with fewer than five employees into larger businesses is no easy task. The vast majority of small businesses “never expand in a meaningful way.” But for some of these enterprises, the potential is there. Why not set a modest, achievable goal? “If just one third of the city’s 165,000 microbusinesses added one new employee,” the report calculated, “it would mean 55,000 additional jobs citywide.”

For Ulster County, with 2962 such microbusinesses, achieving such a goal would mean 987 additional jobs. In a private labor force with 47,000 jobs, that may not seem impressive. But it’s not a goal to sneeze at. The last year that total private employment increased by more than that many jobs was 1999.

The economic climate of 2014 is very different from the time when localities competed for employers looking to building manufacturing plants that offered hundreds of jobs. The talk these days is more about nurturing networks of startup ecosystems at the grass-roots level, helping would-be entrepreneurs build the right connections, find talent and attract investors — just the thing that a real community with a clear focus can do.

Like the national economy, the Ulster County economy seems on an upturn, albeit a fragile one. It’s been years since a major announcement of new jobs (especially one where the jobs panned out). This seems to me an ideal time to understand what’s going on, to refocus our expectations, and to begin to build a new economy one job at a time.

Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Boughton Place hosts Iraq veteran/author Derek McGee

Next Post

New Paltz BOE seeks direction from the community on how to proceed with aging infrastructure

Geddy Sveikauskas

Related Posts

iPark 87 thinks big, developer makes 600 housing units a higher priority
Business

At iPark 87, things do seem different this time

May 29, 2023
Kingston’s new tap room and beer garden was made for locals
Business

Kingston’s new tap room and beer garden was made for locals

May 26, 2023
Ulster County gets ten-million-dollar state Restore grant for iPark 87
Business

Ulster County gets ten-million-dollar state Restore grant for iPark 87

May 23, 2023
Diamond Mills restaurant rebrands as Blackbarn Hudson Valley
Business

Diamond Mills restaurant rebrands as Blackbarn Hudson Valley

May 18, 2023
Ulster County’s only city finds a new identity
Art & Music

Ulster County’s only city finds a new identity

May 13, 2023
Egg’s Nest in High Falls reopens under new management, charm intact
Business

Egg’s Nest restaurant in High Falls closes unexpectedly

May 6, 2023
Next Post

New Paltz BOE seeks direction from the community on how to proceed with aging infrastructure

Trending News

  • Victim’s mother was assured by Kingston school officials that her son would be safe, notice of claim now entered against the district 3.6k views
  • Who’s to blame for Kingston’s inadequate playing fields? Just ask the parents 839 views
  • Pride reaffirmed in New Paltz 725 views
  • At iPark 87, things do seem different this time 427 views
  • Vintage baseball game in Hudson Valley will play by 1800s rules 322 views
  • In a push for affordable housing, Metzger proposes a $15-million fund   320 views

Weather

Kingston
◉
66°
Clear
5:22 am8:25 pm EDT
Feels like: 66°F
Wind: 0mph NE
Humidity: 77%
Pressure: 30.01"Hg
UV index: 0
SatSunMon
70/48°F
73/48°F
72/50°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

×
You have free article(s) remaining. Subscribe for unlimited access.
View Subscription Offers Sign In
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Movie Night Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing