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State of the Economy in Ithaca

Last month, a report claimed Ithaca is losing jobs in New York’s economic recovery, but Tompkins County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state. WENY-TV’s J.B. Biunno investigates.

Ithaca’s Economy

ITHACA (WENY) -- Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report in June claiming Ithaca is losing jobs as New York state collectively recovers from the recession.

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick believes those stats are completely inaccurate.

DiNapoli -- New York's top financial official -- says Ithaca is losing more jobs in the state's economic recovery than it did during the recession. But there are several conflicting reports suggesting the complete opposite.

Days before the report was released, Forbes magazine ranked Ithaca as the third best city in the country to find a job. In a separate report, Tompkins County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state.

Myrick knew something wasn't right. He called several agencies, including Tompkins County Area Development, whose experts were just at baffled by the Comptroller's report.

Myrick believes the numbers -- which come from the federal government -- are skewed, and says Ithaca's economy is on the upswing.

"I can say with absolute confidence that Ithaca is not lagging behind in the state's economic recovery in New York State. If anything, we're leading it," says Myrick.

Myrick says he'll see Comptroller DiNapoli at a dinner in the coming weeks and looks forward to discussing the report in greater detail.