- By Rob LaHood
- Business & Technology
Print 
Ithaca is one of only five communities nationwide where private sector employment accounted for personal income growth in 2009.The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced yesterday that personal income declined in most of the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) by an average of 1.8 percent, after an increase of 2.7 percent in 2008.
In Ithaca, personal income rose 0.1 percent in 2009 following an increase of 5.2 percent in 2008. Private sector employment was responsible for the growth, according to the report.
Jean McPheeters, the president of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, said, “Ithaca has seen a few small tech firm start-ups and employment growth in the industrial and technical sectors as well as many new service and retail businesses in the last few years. The base of our economy is the education sector and we many new companies derive their intellectual property and their leadership from the educational institutions here. This well of intellectual property combined with the natural beauty of the area and the ability to attract and retain employees here gives Ithaca an edge in economic development.”
Nationally, personal income declined in 223 MSAs, remained unchanged in nine, and increased in 134 MSAs. However, in many of the 134 MSAs with earnings growth, the growth really represented an increase in transfer receipts, such as unemployment benefits or government or military sector growth.
The other communities with private sector earnings growth were Kennewick, Washington; Cumberland, Maryland; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Ithaca, NY MSA includes all of Tompkins County.
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