Sen. Charles Schumer is the latest to claim the regional economy is on the upswing.
But at a meeting with local business owners organized by the Rochester Business Alliance, Schumer said while the region’s economy is back on track, jobs have not recovered at the same pace.
“We’ve seen some growth in the economy,” said Schumer. “But we haven’t seen growth in jobs.”
Schumer pointed to several programs aimed at helping businesses boost their payrolls.
The first is a payroll tax holiday Schumer is proposing that will give businesses a tax break on new hires. Schumer also has his hand in creating a local program called Credit for Success that will create a bank consortium. The program will pool banks to offer lines of credit for successful businesses. Instead of one bank offering a loan, several banks would offer the same amount with less risk on each individual bank.
“It’s working in other parts of the state,” said Schumer. “We think it can work here.”
Also, Schumer said funds repaid through the TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program, will be recycled into small businesses all over the program.
While Schumer was touting new businesses and growth as being vital to the local economy, he said was committed “to make sure any existing Rochester business stays around.”
“There are a lot of economic indicators that the economy is improving,” said Ellen Rosen, vice president of marketing at the Rochester Business Alliance, who hosted the senator.
Rosen said Schumer brought “a lot of good information” to business owners during the talk.
“We are happy about having government listen to business,” said Rosen. “We are seeing more and more of that now.”
