There are encouraging economic signs that the recession, the worst since the Great Depression, is ending. While there’s been financial devastation on a global and national level, when it comes to the effects of the recession on the local economy, there is a silver lining for Western New York. Granted, the economic conditions in the Buffalo area have been bad for a long time. Yet we seem immune to many of the negative effects the rest of the country has experienced from the recession.

On the surface, our area doesn’t look well. Job losses are the most visible evidence. The current unemployment rate nationally is 10.2 percent while Buffalo’s jobless rate is 10.8 percent (Niagara Falls is even worse with 11.3 percent). However, the unemployment rates for the eight counties in Western New York all come in at 8.8 percent or lower. For these and other reasons, Western New York appears to be holding its own economically.

BusinessWeek’s recent ranking of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region among the top 40 strongest U. S. metro economies (Buffalo-Niagara ranked #21) is a good illustration of this. How is it that Buffalo, the third-poorest city in America, could be seen as one of the U. S. cities least touched by the recession? According to BusinessWeek, the answer is that Buffalo has a “diverse employment base, which includes manufacturing, education, health care, banking and debt collection—a lucrative industry in this economic climate.”

It’s a sad commentary when debt collection is a growth industry for our economy. Thankfully, Western New York is home to a breadth of industries.

Another encouraging sign is the Buffalo housing market, which is the hottest in the Northeast. According to a third-quarter survey by the National Association of Realtors, the median price of existing homes that sold in the Buffalo- Niagara region rose by 4.8 percent (to a record high of $119,700). This is not surprising. Home prices in the Buffalo area were not inflated to the unsustainable levels that they were in other parts of the country that went bust when the housing bubble burst in 2007.

While it might not feel that way to many Western New Yorkers without a job or nearly a third of Buffalonians who live below the federal poverty line, our local economy is in a good position to improve. Nevertheless, many Buffalo area consumers and businesses are still left wondering when the economy will get better.

The biggest drag on economic progress for Western New York is taxes. But we are not alone in this regard. Businesses throughout the state are trying to stay out of bankruptcy (let alone eke out a profit) under the same oppressive tax structure. No wonder many businesses are leaving New York, which has the nation’s highest taxes. High taxes will continue to handicap New York as the state tries to attract businesses and capital.

Greg Slabodkin lives in Kenmore and is head of marketing communications for a telecom equipment manufacturer.