Assessment of Labor Skills Gaps in Western New York Completed for Leading Regional Employers

Some of the region's largest employers struggle to fill critical vacancies despite above-average unemployment and underemployment levels in the Buffalo Niagara area. Such an imbalance in labor market supply and demand challenges company growth and broader regional economic development. To move toward a regionally coordinated approach to talent development, the Western New York Senior Human Resources Group, representing large private sector companies in Erie and Niagara Counties, commissioned the UB Regional Institute to assess the scope and nature of labor skill gaps in the region. The final report reveals a concentration of labor shortages in knowledge economy growth areas such as health care, financial services, computers and management. Among the effort's recommendations are improved monitoring, coordination and development of existing employees and, at the regional scale, aligning higher education with employer demand.