Tompkins County created 800 jobs in February to bring total non-farm employment to 64,200. That is 500 more jobs than in February 2007. The new jobs were in our bread and butter industry – education and health services. The unemployment rate was 3.5 percent. In New York State the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent and 5.2 percent nationally.

County retail sales totaled $131.0 million, almost the exact same figure as January. However, this figure is 4.59 percent higher than February 2007. After vaulting more than 11 percent in 2005, retail sales in Tompkins County have been growing about 5 percent a year for the past two years.

The number of passengers arriving and departing from Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport in February descended 2.24 percent to 15,093. However, compared to February 2007 air traffic was up 19.92 percent.

Residential building permits issued in Tompkins County tumbled 61.67 percent in February. Permits have a tendency to swing widely from month to month and a change of this amount is not unusual. Indeed, building permits are higher through the first two months of 2008 than for the comparable months of 2007.

Existing home sales fell 14.55 percent in February, but compared to February 2007 home sales were up 19.35 percent. The average selling price was $208,000, while the median home sold for $159,000.

Help wanted advertising inched ahead 1.37 percent in February. This is a marginal increase for this indicator of labor market conditions.

It is critical to keep up with data revisions. The employment data undergo a major revision each January and the most recent annual revision has been very favorable for the local economy. The number of jobs created in 2007 in the County was revised upward from 200 to 600. The new numbers indicate that the Tompkins County economy grew 0.9 percent in 2007. Before the revision the growth rate was thought to be 0.1 percent.

Maintained by Elia Kacapyr (kacapyr@ithaca.edu)
Last updated 4/3/08