The constant cloud cover and dismal weather may not be the only things that some consider disheartening in Binghamton’s metropolitan area. The website Business Insider has recently ranked Binghamton as the fifth most depressing city in America, using information from a new Gallup poll.
The Gallup poll was based on several factors including job growth, “satisfaction within the community” and “optimism about the future,” as measured in various metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
In terms of Binghamton residents, 76.1 percent said they were satisfied, but only 31 percent were optimistic about the future of their city.
“We all were hit by the recession, so certainly Binghamton has been affected. But we disagree with the label ‘depressed,'” said Stacey Duncan, government relations manager at Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. “I would characterize it as more of a ‘recession hangover,’ which is maybe why you see the lower numbers of community optimism. It is certainly hard when you have been hit by job loss.”
Business Insider ranks Buffalo as the country’s most depressing city, followed by Youngstown, Ohio, Flint, Mich. and Toledo, Ohio.
“It has been a hard few decades for Binghamton, which increased total employment only 0.9 percent from 1980 to 2005,” the Business Insider’s report stated.
Binghamton has experienced a significant decline in the percentage of jobs in manufacturing over the years, in large part because of the departure of IBM’s headquarters from the region.
But according to Andrew Block, the executive assistant to Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan, the poll failed to take into account a shifting employment base in the city.
“As a great deal of recent news coverage has explained, the ranking relied on data pertaining to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the Greater Binghamton area, but failed to consider that the area is transitioning from a manufacturing-based economy to an advanced services-based economy,” Block said.
Lou Santoni, president of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, also recognized that manufacturing is giving way to a service-based economy in the region.
“Manufacturing will always be a vital part of our economy, but it is not likely to provide the same level of employment as it has in the past,” Santoni said. “What is before us is the perfect opportunity to focus our economic development efforts on our significant regional advantages such as a highly skilled labor force, access to Interstate highways and quality air service, abundant natural gas resources and a quality of life that can match up with any other city in the nation.”
Both Santoni and Duncan said they remained hopeful about Binghamton improving its job growth category rating.
“The Chamber will continue to work with our economic development partners to attract exciting companies and to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in Binghamton,” Duncan said.