The CBS Evening News (2/3, lead story, 3:45, Pelley) reported on “a big improvement in the unemployment picture. The Labor Department reported today that the jobless rate in January fell 0.2% to 8.3%, the lowest in three years. And the economy created 243,000 jobs. That’s a lot more than economists or Wall Street were expecting.”

NBC Nightly News (2/3, story 2, 2:20, Holt) reported, “The jobs report for January out this morning blew past everyone’s expectations. … Wall Street responded with a surge of its own, the Dow up 156 points to its highest close since May 2008 before the economic meltdown, and Nasdaq hit an 11-year high.”

The AP (2/3) reported, “In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. … Hiring accelerated across the economy and up and down the pay scale. The high-salary professional services industry added 70,000 jobs, the most in 10 months. Manufacturing added 50,000, the most in a year.”

Bloomberg News (2/4, Willis, Miller) reported that the “labor market recovery is broadening as industries from construction to retail to manufacturing added workers in January.”

The New York Times (2/4, Rich, Subscription Publication) reported, “Measured by both the unemployment rate and the number of jobless — which fell to 12.8 million — it was the strongest signal yet that an economic recovery was spreading to the jobs market.”

The Washington Post (2/4, Whoriskey) reported the President “seized on the numbers as proof that the nation’s economic recovery ‘is speeding up.’”

The Wall Street Journal (2/4, Dougherty, Subscription Publication) reported job growth was at its fastest rate since April 2011, and unemployment was down for the fifth consecutive month.

The Los Angeles Times (2/4, Lee) reported, “Some economists called the latest employment report a game-changer that signaled better times ahead for American workers,” but “many others were cautious in their assessment, noting that job growth was inflated by the unseasonably warm weather — construction reported sizable gains, for instance — and that the outlook remains constrained by government budget cuts, financially strapped consumers and a slowing global economy.”

Larry Rulison writes in today’s business section of the Times Union - “If the Capital Region is going to become a major center for advanced manufacturing and renewable energy technologies, the workforce has to be trained even before college.

That’s the approach educators at Questar III’s Columbia-Greene Educational Center here in Hudson are taking with their students.

The school, part of the state’s BOCES system, provides hands-on training for some of the most sought out careers in the country even before the students graduate high school.

And these aren’t run-of-the-mill vocational courses, but high-level training in solar electricity, wind power, batteries, semiconductors and high-tech manufacturing and robotics. While some students go straight into industry, others move on to schools like Hudson Valley Community College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.”

To read more click here.

The New York Times (1/6, Norris, Subscription Publication) reported, “For the first time in many years, manufacturing stands out as an area of strength in the American economy. When the Labor Department reports December employment numbers on Friday, it is expected that manufacturing companies will have added jobs in two consecutive years.” And this week, the Institute for Supply Management reported its employment index for December was 55.1. That is the highest reading since June. The US “is particularly strong in machinery, chemicals and transportation equipment, which together make up nearly half of the exports.”

Michael Regan of the Tonawanda News reports - “he City of Buffalo is set to receive $1 billion for economic development initiatives, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during the State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon…

“New York is stronger when every region of the state is strong,” Cuomo said. “We must address the crisis in Western New York, and Buffalo specifically. This is another issue that has gone on for many, many years, while the state sat by and did not take dramatic action.”

Though he did not elaborate, Cuomo said he would like to create a publicly-funded system for state political races and continue to push for an extensive overhaul of performance based assessments for teachers, while implying that the entire educational system is held hostage by lobbyists and self-serving union demands.

“After years of overspending and overtaxing in Albany, it is clear that this governor gets it,” said Heather Briccetti, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State.”

To read more click here.

Click here for the Governor’s  State of the State press release, and click here to watch video of the event.

NorthCountryNow.com reports - “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address today outlined proposals he said will create jobs while keeping state spending and taxes in check.

Cuomo’s speech built on the theme of bipartisan accomplishment over the last year to urge continued cooperation to improve the economy and education in the state, as well as the state’s governing reputation.

For the North Country, the governor held out hope for success in a second round of regional economic development funding for local projects and programs. He said $200 million would be available for the second round. The first round concluded in December with the North Country Regional Economic Development Council winning an additional $40 million in aid after competing programs from all regions were evaluated….

Anthony Collins, president of Clarkson University and co-chair of the NCREDC, (also a BCNYS board member) who attended the governor’s address, said, “For the first time, the North Country has a true partner in progress thanks to Governor Cuomo’s Regional Council initiative. Those who know their regions best were given the power to design an economic development model that works for their area and in just a few short months, we are already seeing that planning process pay off through a better collaboration between public and private sector efforts. Regional Councils provided the North Country with the support to advance our vision for economic growth through the development of innovative partnerships in agriculture, energy, small business development and tourism that will benefit our communities for years to come.”

“Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address shows his strong commitment to creating jobs and reviving New York’s economy,” said Heather Briccetti, president of The Business Council of New York State in a statement after the speech. “After years of overspending and overtaxing in Albany, it is clear that this Governor ‘gets it.’”

To read more click here.

In an op-ed in the Huntington News Network (1/3), Dr. Mel Schiavelli, president of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania, and a charter member of the Manufacturing Institute’s Education Council, writes, “Despite accounting for nearly half of the US workforce, women hold under 25 percent of STEM jobs.

This low figure mirrors the scene on college campuses, where women graduated with only 27 percent of science, math, and engineering degrees in 2009.” Dr. Schiavelli writes, “Regardless of the reasons, the trend must be reversed.” Schiavelli writes, “Targeting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in STEM at different points of the educational-career continuum will help the nation, as First Lady Michelle Obama said, ‘out-innovate and out-educate the rest of the world.’”

Scott Waldman of the Times Union writes:

“Albany High School had one of the first nanotechnology programs at high schools in the country. The school now has a mock clean-room, which replicates the ultra-sterile environment and equipment used by scientists who work at the molecular level. Students already make regular trips to the NanoCollege. Now they can complete sophisticated research right at school.

And thanks to Hudson Valley Community College, Albany High students will also be prepared for biotechnology careers. Through a federal grant worth about $150,000, Hudson Valley donated a new biotechnology lab to the high school and will conduct distance-learning courses for students. That means Albany High students will receive training and instruction in current biotech and biomanufacturing processes that are occurring in businesses as well as colleges and universities across Tech Valley.”

To read more click here.

The Associated Press reports on silive.com - “New York was the only state to see a decline in its math score for fourth graders in a national assessment of public schools, which shows mostly stagnant academic progress over the last two years.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, a widely cited testing program, found New York’s fourth graders who took the math test in the spring had a lower average score than the national average, and lower than 30 other states. The 2011 New York score was lower than the 2009 score, but still higher than the 1992 score, the earliest comparison included in today’s report.

Nationally in 2011, 40 percent of fourth-graders scored above the proficiency level, compared with 38 percent in 2009. In New York, the numbers went in the other direction: 36 percent were proficient in 2011, a drop from 40 percent in 2009.”

To read more click here.

Joseph Spector of Gannett News and Sean Lahman of the Democrat and Chronicle write:

“Westchester and Putnam counties ranked first and second in the state for the average full-time salaries for teachers and administrators last school year, while Otsego and Yates counties paid the least, records show.

A review of school salaries by Gannett’s Albany Bureau showed wide disparities in teacher and administrators’ pay by regions of the state.

It ranges from the top salary of $506,381 that went to Syosset schools Superintendent Carole Hankin in Long Island to the $166,360 earned by Binghamton schools Superintendent Peggy Wozniak.”

To read more click here.