DANSVILLE — State Sen. George Borrello and Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes hosted a roundtable on small business Wednesday to gather input on the challenges owners face as state and local economies work to recover from the financial hardships of the past two years.
Representatives from the region’s hospitality, manufacturing, health care and insurance/financial sectors participated in the forum.
“Small businesses employ more than half of New Yorkers, so it is critically important that we listen to them and work in partnership to help them succeed and thrive,” Borrello, R-Chautauqua County, said. “When they do well, New York state does well.”
A focal point of the discussion were persistent staffing shortages in a number of industries, which several participants cited.
Borrello said the state has a labor shortage despite the fact that New York still has one of the worst unemployment numbers in the nation at a recession-level rate of 6.8%, while the national average is 4.6%.
“That is a clear sign that our economic recovery is being severely hindered by bad government policy out of Albany,” the senator said.
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