This trend has been going on for a long time.

Auto jobs are good-paying jobs, and there are a lot of them. I don't know anyone who would want to get rid of an auto plant. But when you look at the world economy, the fiercest competition is in autos, and this region is very, very dependent on autos for its manufacturing base.

That's good news. We're actually growing over the year.

Locally, we have a higher concentration (of manufacturing jobs) than the rest of the nation. When there's a manufacturing downturn, we feel it.

Another reason for fewer jobs is the increased productivity by companies. More production is gotten out of few people because of automation and improved manufacturing processes.

It used to be steel, but now autos are our big one. And that's causing us a lot of problems in our economy. That presence is magnified by all of the companies that support them.

Those are areas that have shown real strength.

These are good-paying jobs that would be hard to replace.

This is a case where weather plays a factor. This is one of the few industries that prays Buffalo gets six feet of snow.