Adam Bosch, president of research nonprofit Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, says there is a major issue gripping the Valley, upstate New York and much of the world.

“What economists refer to as the great people shortage," he said.

A recent study by the nonprofit using U.S. Census data found the region is losing more people than it’s gaining and to make matters worse, families are having fewer children.

“Our demand for workers is greater than the number of people we have available to work. And the data show that this trend gets worse as the next years and decades go by," Bosch said.

And the idea that “nobody wants to work anymore” is a myth.

“The population-to-employment ratio right now is about 58.5%," he said. "That's better than most of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2010s. So, it's just not true. People are working. It's just that there are fewer people to work.”

The problems, he said, stem from a few other things, mostly taxes and housing. Housing stock has not kept up with demand and people can move short distances to Pennsylvania or New Jersey and save money.

“This is where our neighbors are moving to, right? The border counties in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, to the Carolinas and Florida," Bosch said. "They are building far more housing than we are. That's keeping housing prices relatively low compared to us.”

He said part of the solution needs to come from Albany. He wants to see the state look at its current tax code and adjust potential incentives to build more housing.

Local municipalities can then make housing a priority.

“Housing is number one really through zoning, through codes, through." Bosch said. "And so, we can really do a lot at the local level to set the conditions that encourage the development of housing. Of course, the state can then incentivize that so long as we set up the rules at the local level that allow it.”