The Plattsburgh New York unemployment rate remains in the double digits, and is just a tenth of a point better than it was one year ago.
But businesses say the job count is up and are looking to hire more people at the job fair that's being held right now at the West Side Ballroom. It goes until 8 PM Wednesday.
Here's the story of one local business that's thriving.
The Kayak Shack sits right on the Adirondack Coast and since it opened five years ago, it has been spared by the recession.
"We often wondered if the business, just being seasonal, would be enough to support it and it has been," Patty Husband, owner of the Kayak Shack said.
Not to say that its been easy though, "It is harder these days, for the local business owner to survive," Husband added.
Hurricane Irene affected last year's profit, but already this year, business is booming.
In addition to the Kayak shack, the Chamber of Commerce says that several other small businesses have recently opened up in Plattsburgh, they say the key to supporting these businesses is to shop locally. "Even if the price is a little bit more, it comes back and it stays in the community," Husband said.
Even with Plattsburgh's 10.5% unemployment rate, the Chamber says their survey of businesses is the best way to gage the slow, but continuing improvement.
"This year the confidence index was very strong, it was over 90%," Susan Matton, VP of the Chamber's Economic Development division said.
That means businesses feel they can stay in business and even hire more employees.
So why is the unemployment number above the national average? The Department of Labor says jobs are available, it's just a matter of getting people into those positions, and that's the mission of the job fair.
"We would like for everyone who wants a job, to have a job," Matton said.
It's success stories like the Kayak Shack that will continue to pull Plattsburgh and the rest of the nation out of the recession.
