{"id":41223,"date":"2026-01-20T15:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=41223"},"modified":"2026-01-20T15:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T20:05:59","slug":"economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_41224\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41224\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-41224 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced-65x65.png 65w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/carrieheadshot_bg_replaced.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-41224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Carrie Woerner of the 113th Assembly District. Courtesy Assemblymember Carrie Woerner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, <i>113th Assembly District<\/i><\/p>\n<p>When asked to offer my perspective on trends in New York\u2019s economy, I will say upfront that I am bullish on New York\u2019s economy, and on our part of the Upstate economy particularly.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Which is not to say that there are not challenges we must confront and solve, but I am convinced that we have the necessary mix of talent, energy and commitment among the private and public sector to realize the potential that is 2026.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The groundwork was laid for growth in 2026 with significant private sector investments in semiconductor and biomedical manufacturing, supply chains, and logistics.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Traditional industries like agriculture are also seeing investment with Chobani\u2019s plans to construct a significant new production plant requiring milk from 1500 more cows that we currently have in the state. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Tourism remains a strong component of the upstate economy, and certainly Saratoga Springs and Lake George both had strong summer seasons. The start of the 250th Commemoration of our nation\u2019s founding will drive heritage tourists to our area. While we don\u2019t yet have the statistics for 2025, the number of small business openings exceeded the number of closings in 2024; as small businesses are the source of 98% of jobs statewide, this is a truly positive sign that our economy is strong.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In last year\u2019s state budget, the Legislature and the Governor allocated funds to pay off the residual pandemic unemployment insurance debt to the federal government. That change is anticipated to save businesses about $250 per employee this year &#8211; dollars that businesses can now invest in growing their business. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><span class=\"\"><b><span class=\"s1\"><span class=\"s2\"><!--more--><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Good paying jobs, in growth industries, makes our part of the state a highly desirable place to work; low property taxes, recreation, good schools, and entertainment make it a highly desirable place to live.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yet, attainable housing, particularly for young people just starting out in the workforce and for the people who work in service jobs in our hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and schools, remains elusive.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Apartment projects, including affordable apartment projects in Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls, are filled as soon as they are constructed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And rents keep going up, pricing many out of the market and forcing them to move further from their employer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This has been a long-term problem, and one that I believe must be addressed, as it impacts the ability of employers to fill open positions, and if allowed to continue, will ultimately limit our region\u2019s economic capacity. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Residential and industrial development requires reliable and affordable energy, in adequate supply.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>To meet the needs of our growing region, we need to embrace a common sense and comprehensive energy strategy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Policy choices that drive up demand for electricity must consider the impact on reliability that the resulting increase in demand will have.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And while future technological innovation will make appliances like air source heat pumps truly efficient and effective in the stretches of a deep freeze that we often experience, today\u2019s electric heating technology falls short of the mark, in terms of cost and efficiency.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I will be advocating in the legislature to recalibrate our state\u2019s approach to reducing greenhouse gases and other emissions to ensure adequate supply of reliable and affordable energy, as well as a cleaner environment. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We need to continue to invest in workforce development programs that support the industries that are finding a home in New York and in the Capital Region.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Community colleges like SUNY Adirondack and Hudson Valley Community Colleges are key, as are the BOCES and apprenticeship programs offered by the skilled trades.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Without enough skilled workers, we will have a hard time continuing to attract and retain growth businesses. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In summary, I think the economic outlook for New York\u2019s Capital Region is positive.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Past investments have provided the conditions for continued strong growth. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>While there are some challenges that must be addressed, I have confidence that working collaboratively with the leaders in the private and public sector can solve those challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, 113th Assembly District When asked to offer my perspective on trends in New York\u2019s economy, I will say upfront that I am bullish on New York\u2019s economy, and on our part of the Upstate economy particularly.\u00a0 Which is not to say that there are not challenges we must confront and solve, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":41225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-outlook-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, 113th Assembly District When asked to offer my perspective on trends in New York\u2019s economy, I will say upfront that I am bullish on New York\u2019s economy, and on our part of the Upstate economy particularly.\u00a0 Which is not to say that there are not challenges we must confront and solve, [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-20T20:05:59+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"683\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"356\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/\",\"name\":\"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-20T20:05:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png\",\"width\":683,\"height\":356},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"By Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, 113th Assembly District When asked to offer my perspective on trends in New York\u2019s economy, I will say upfront that I am bullish on New York\u2019s economy, and on our part of the Upstate economy particularly.\u00a0 Which is not to say that there are not challenges we must confront and solve, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2026-01-20T20:05:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":683,"height":356,"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/","name":"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png","datePublished":"2026-01-20T20:05:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/01\/woerner-fi.png","width":683,"height":356},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/01\/economic-outlook-2026-upstate-outlook-2026-growth-with-purpose\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Economic Outlook 2026: Upstate Outlook 2026 Growth With Purpose"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41226,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41223\/revisions\/41226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}