Prison Closure Would Mean 287 More IDA: County Lost 1,650 Jobs

The possible closure of Ogdensburg Correctional Facility (OCF) will continue to bolster St. Lawrence County's unemployment rate, already one of the highest in New York State.

In 2009, the county saw an unemployment rate of 10 percent, a significant hike from 2005 when the rate was at 6.1 percent. The unemployment rate is expected to take another hit if OCF closes with its 287 employees.

"The economic decline in St. Lawrence County has hastened in the last five years. General Motors closed its doors dislocating over 550 workers and Alcoa idled one of its aluminum manufacturing operations displacing another 113. The zinc mine halted operation leaving 225 without jobs and another 77 jobs were cut from the talc mine. In this period, over 1,100 jobs have been lost due to plant closures and over 550 workers have been laid off," said Ogdensburg Correctional Facility Task Force member and IDA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Patrick J. Kelly.

At a time when both Gov. David A. Paterson and President Barack Obama are touting job creation, the closure of OCF would hurt the area's economy and increase unemployment, according to Michael B. Powers, a task force member, city councilor and a state correctional officer.

"The economy and the unemployment in the North Country is at catastrophic levels," said Mr. Powers.

A snapshot of the county's economy can be seen in statistics provided by the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

The county had the second lowest per capita income at $24,854 in 2007, which was only 54 percent of the state's per capita income (in the high $40,000 range).

St. Lawrence County lags behind statewide trends in median household income, at $39,035. The median statewide household income in 2007 was $53,448.

Forty-five percent of the county's population has low or moderate incomes, according to 2000 Census data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD calculated that 17 communities in the county had more than 50 percent of their populations with low or moderate incomes.

The percentage of people in poverty in St. Lawrence County is higher than statewide numbers. Data indicated that 15.9 percent of people were in poverty, compared to 13.8 percent for New York.

While over 1,100 jobs have left the North Country, another economic factor that needs to be included are the declining number of farms in the county, according to Mr. Kelly.

As of 2007, the Census of Agriculture indicates that the number of county farms had dropped by over 500 since 1978 coinciding with over 30 percent decline in acreage farmed in the county.

"The service sector has grown and now accounts for over 75 percent of the county's employment. Government jobs furnish the single largest share of jobs at over 36 percent of nonagricultural employment in 2006," said Mr. Kelly.