BUFFALO, N.Y. — This morning, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce whose members employ over a quarter million people in the region, released its annual Member Pulse Report, which documents the key results of its 2023 Member Survey.   

For the third consecutive year, difficulty finding and retaining qualified talent ranked as the top concern of BNP members, with three quarters reporting that they have unfilled positions. The impact of inflation and higher interest rates raised market conditions to the second concern after spending several years further down the ranking.  

Assessment of our business climate followed historical trends: while members are generally fond of the Buffalo Niagara regional business climate, members are pessimistic about doing business in New York State. Only 15% believe New York is becoming more business friendly – even fewer than last year.   

Members cited a variety of policy issues that explain their pessimism about New York, but one issue jumped out as the most common concern: climate policy. Amid a barrage of new laws and regulations that touch every aspect of our economy, only 11% of BNP members feel New York’s climate policy action has been helpful for the state.   

“Governor Hochul and New York State leaders have not given employers confidence that the variety of climate-related measures they are implementing are practical,” said BNP President and CEO Dottie Gallagher. “As the state develops the NY Cap-and-Invest program and considers other legislative proposals, keeping energy affordable and reliable must be our leaders’ top priority.”  

The report also details that remote work has become widely popular, with an overwhelming majority of employers offering it in some form to a portion of their employees. As a result, many employers are rethinking their spatial needs, and about one fifth have or are planning to downsize their office space.   

The full report is available here.