Eight things you need to know about the impact of COVID-19 on Saratoga County's economy.

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) provides a strong incentive for businesses in our neighboring countries to find new customers across our borders through exports while supporting jobs here in the United States. New York state exported almost $73.3 billion in 2019 and $84.7 billion in 2020, with 19.4% and 19.8% respectively going to Canada. The next closest market is Hong Kong at 8.9% and 10.2% respectively. Furthermore, N.Y. small business exports contributed $49.22 billion to the economy and supported 394,350 jobs.

Tom Caulfield is as determined as ever to take GlobalFoundries public amid the growing appetite for computer chips for internet connected appliances, smartphones and audio devices.

"If this industry keeps growing, we are going to have to figure out where do we go beyond the four walls of all our fabs," Caulfield said. "Right now the task at hand is to leverage the floor space we have around the world and build our capacity as efficiently and as effectively as fast as we can to meet this market demand." Find out how he plans to move forward.

3. Saratoga County Officials Celebrate Grand Opening Of Zim Smith Trail Extension

With health concerns on the rise and all the encouragement to be outside and social distance our county continues to lead the way for healthy alternatives to get outside and keep moving. “Whether people come to walk, run or ride a bike, this trail will provide more opportunities for residents to safely enjoy the outdoors,” Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Preston Allen said, thanking project participants for their work. Learn more about the Trail and what is has to offer.

4. Small businesses that got PPP now eligible for New York's $100M loan program

The New York Forward Loan Fund — a $100 million loan program introduced to help businesses suffering through the coronavirus pandemic — is expanding who is eligible to include small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans of $50,000 or less. This conditional change will provide the Fund's network of lenders and financial institutions with greater flexibility and enable them to provide more small businesses with working capital to cover expenses associated with reopening. To learn more about the loan program from NYFLF head to their website.

5. As Remote Learning Begins, Women In The Workplace Feel The Pinch.

As the pandemic wears on and school begins across the country, women working in retail say they are being forced to choose between keeping their jobs and making sure their children can keep up with remote learning. The NY Times explores the pandemic and women's role int the workforce. Women in all types of jobs are feeling this squeeze. According to a study last month by the Census Bureau, women were three times more likely than men to have left their job because of child-care issues during the pandemic. But the inflexibility of retail work schedules — where shifts can vary widely week to week and employees have little choice but to take the hours they are given — makes the pressure on those employees particularly acute and likely to lead to more women dropping out of the work force.

6. Why Skills - Not Degrees Are on the Rise

Learn how Covid-19 's slowdown has impacted a change in the future of our workforce. Clearly, the future of work will not be about college degrees; it will be about job skills. Now is our opportunity to steer those without college degrees toward successful careers and increase diversity amongst our workforce. According to the World Economic Forum, more than 1 billion jobs, almost one-third of all jobs worldwide, are likely to be transformed by technology in the next decade. In these and other similar situations, people are the organizing force making sure technology works the way we want it to. This means an unprecedented and rapid rise in new kinds of digital jobs. According to the Forum’s Jobs of Tomorrow report, there will be a rapid influx of roles at the forefront of the data and AI economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing and product development.

A new joint report by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Boston Consulting Group finds the U.S. government has a strategic opportunity to reverse the decades-long trajectory of declining chip manufacturing in America, strengthen national security and make our supply chains more resilient, and make our country one of the most attractive places in the world to produce semiconductors, which are the brains of modern technology. The global industry is expected to increase manufacturing capacity by 56% in the next decade. The U.S. must act now to strengthen our national security and invigorate our economy by creating robust incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.

8. America's New Playbook for Infrastructure: Solutions Begin at the Ground Level

 Every $1 billion of investment in infrastructure creates more than 22,000 jobs — typically well-paid jobs — that provides long-lasting careers and supports strong local economies. To maximize the return on investment for American workers and underserved communities through federal stimulus legislation, the New Partnership on Infrastructure was launched to deliver specific and actionable recommendations to improve how infrastructure is funded and delivered to the public through an Infrastructure Playbook. America's New Playbook for Infrastructure contains 26 proposals to enhance the country's built environment and is rooted in a practitioner's perspective, targeted toward solving the routine challenges of developing meaningful infrastructure projects. Goals of the Playbook include: maximize investment for job + small business growth; empower localities with effective tools and processes; funding and financing for community-serving infrastructure, and make transformative investments for a more resilient future. Read the entire Infrastructure Playbook here.