ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Downtown Development Corporation hosted the first of three online forums Tuesday afternoon, discussing the state of the Rochester economy.

Rochester has been hit harder than the national average when it comes to job loss due to COVID-19, M&T vice president and regional economist Gary Keith said.


What You Need To Know

  • Rochester Downtown Development Corporation hosted the first of three online forums discussing the state of the economy

  • Rochester has had a net loss of nearly 52,000 jobs since March

  • Hardest hit are the retail and hospitality industries

  • R.D.D.C. will be hosting two more events in the coming months

Rochester has had a net loss of nearly 52,000 jobs since March.

“As daunting as that U.S. story was, we significantly exceeded it, a 16 percent plunge since April, and a slow recovery through the month of August,” Keith said.

Hardest hit are the retail and hospitality industries: accounting for 50 percent of all jobs lost.

“When will these jobs come back online? I think slowly, but as we head into indoor weather season, the leisure hospitality we were able to recover a bit on in terms of indoor dining and etc., will be challenged. And we’ll have to find new ways to go forward," Keith said.

Keith says the good news is our consumer spending is back in the positive, but a lot of that money may be going to online giants like Amazon.

“Where they’re doing it has an impact on our local economy, so hopefully we can recapture as many of those dollars as possible,” Keith said.

That’s why president and CEO of ROC 2025 Joe Stefko says the mission of his economic alliance to bring investment to the city is more critical than ever.

ROC 2025 was formed last spring to create an economic focus for the next five years.

“All the motivations that led to the creation of ROC 2025 in the first place, slower job growth rate, less regional GDP growth compared to our peers, too little income growth, I think those all take on even greater urgency in the wake of the pandemic,” Stefko said.

To that end, the group’s focus is on business retention and expansion, expanding the size of Rochester’s labor pool, downtown development, and regional branding.

“Notwithstanding the significant pandemic-related impacts we’ve seen since April, this is all about rebuilding our economic momentum,” Stefko said.

R.D.D.C. will be hosting two more events in the coming months: a vision for the future will be discussed in December, and rebuilding strategies will be discussed in February.