Explorer’s ‘Jobs 2.0’ series dug into past, present and future of employment in the Adirondacks
By Tim Rowland
When the Adirondack industrial age came to an end in the 1970s, previously dependable jobs in mills and mines dried up, just as the state was creating the Adirondack Park Agency and land-use regulations that were perceived, rightly or wrongly, as devaluing private property.
A decade of hardship and resentment ensued, which only began to change when the winter Olympics came to Lake Placid in 1980, touching off a new era of tourism and, oddly enough, prisons.
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When prisons proved unsustainable and began to close, residents leaned more heavily into patching together multiple jobs, an old Adirondack model, now under the new name of a gig economy. This coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed the face of North Country work.
In a generation, the greatest North Country labor problem went from not enough work to not enough help. New ideas were floated for attracting new employees to the area, including recruitment of soldiers retiring from Fort Drum
With few big employers remaining, Adirondack labor underwent a Great Decentralization, with entrepreneurs starting their own businesses and tech workers finding they could work remotely while maintaining an outdoor lifestyle.
But the labor market was changing for blue collar work as well. A dearth in Adirondack construction following the 2008 real-estate bust had driven many trades workers into retirement or out of the area. Those trades jobs have returned, fueled by a surge in new pandemic-driven construction.
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So too have Adirondack demographics affected the work force as an aging population will demand more medical workers and care givers and the North Country adapts to shifting patterns in population, climate, energy and investment — which in many ways is the same as it’s always been.
Photo at top: Students learn how to use the tools of their trades at the Adirondack Educational Center near Saranac Lake. Photo by Mike Lynch
Jobs 2.0: About this series
Fifty years ago, much of the Adirondacks’ industrial base shut down, taking jobs, capital and tax revenue with it. This introduced an era of high unemployment and poverty and a growing reliance on government jobs. By the 2020 pandemic, this era was itself fading. In this ongoing series, Adirondack Explorer traces the losses of the industrial age. We also look to the future: With a declining and aging population, the rise of remote work, an entrepreneurial renaissance, and the impacts of climate change and artificial intelligence on a new era for North Country employment.
This series is supported in part by a Generous Acts grant through Adirondack Foundation.
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