Study: Albany endures recession better than most - The Business Review (Albany):

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The Capital Region unemployment rateincreased 2.3 percent between March 2008 and 2009, outperforminbg all but 10 of the 100 largestt metro areas in the country, according to a new report by the , a Washingtonh D.C.-based public policy group. Alban y and fellow upstate cities Syracuse and Rochester were amonh the 38 metro areas where housing priceas increased betweeen the first quarter of 2008and 2009. The threde cities avoided the steep decline in pricese that have devastated the real estate markets in eightg California and five Floridqametropolitan markets.
“We are all sensitivd to the big problems in the housinh andauto sectors,” said Hugh Johnson, chairmanj and chief investment officer at in Albany. “It’s the boom-bust issue. Where there was a boom, there was a he said. Most of upstate has avoided the highzs and lows thatLas Vegas, California and Floridaw did, Johnson said. “As a whole, New York fits into a distinctt nicheof Mid-Atlantic states that have weathered the recession surprisinglyt well,” said James Booker, a economics professor.