There’s an even more sobering element to the disappointing October jobs report that came out Thursday. It was bad enough that the Buffalo Niagara region’s job market stagnated last month after a respectable jump in hiring during September. But we already know that the Buffalo Niagara job market took a big turn for the worse in November.
Sumitomo Rubber USA on Thursday announced it will close its Town of Tonawanda tire plant, which employs 1,550 people as one of the region’s largest manufacturers. And when you look at the 1,550 jobs that are being lost from the sudden shutdown of the Sumitomo tire plant in the Town of Tonawanda earlier this month in the context of the overall job market, it’s even more concerning. In essence, the Sumitomo shutdown will wipe out all of the gains the region’s job market had scratched and clawed to muster since Thanksgiving 2023.
During that time, the region added a grand total of 900 jobs. That averages out to less than 100 new jobs each month. In one stunning blow, the Sumitomo shutdown will wipe out more jobs than the region had added over the previous 11 months combined.
Workers collaborate in the new customer contact immersion center at M&T Bank’s tech hub in Buffalo. The Buffalo Niagara region’s tepid job growth continued into October. Thursday’s jobs report from the state Labor Department didn’t offer much encouragement, either.
The region lost 300 jobs from September to October, continuing a year-long stretch of topsy-tu.