• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy

   

  • About Us
  • Press Room
  • Donate

Research That Works for Kentucky

  • Topics
    • Budget & Tax
    • Criminal Justice
    • Economic Security
    • Education
    • Health Care
    • Jobs & The Economy
  • Types
    • News
    • Op-Ed
    • Research

   

  • About Us
  • Press Room
  • Donate

Copyright © 2022 KyPolicy Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Sitemap

Analysis

Faster Job Growth is Encouraging, but Kentucky Still Has Long Way to Go

Jason Bailey | February 17, 2012

Job growth in Kentucky picked up in the last three months of 2011, as the state added 15,800 jobs. At the depths of the recession, Kentucky had lost 117,700 jobs. Job creation since the recovery began has reduced that gap, but the state still has 60,200 fewer jobs than before the recession hit.

In addition, the state’s real jobs deficit is even bigger once you take into account continued population growth. Kentucky needed to create an additional 57,400 jobs over the last four years to keep up with the ongoing expansion of the working age population. That makes Kentucky’s total jobs deficit 117,600 jobs—the sum of net jobs lost from the recession and jobs needed to keep up with population. See the figure below.

More On Jobs & The Economy: State Workers Help Us All; It’s Past Time to Help Them Too

According to the Economic Policy Institute, Kentucky needs to average 4,500 new jobs a month for three years to return the state to pre-recession unemployment rates. While job growth averaged 5,267 jobs a month the last three months of 2011, it averaged only 2,583 jobs a month for all of 2011.

 kentucky jobs deficit

Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data

FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail

Primary Sidebar

Get KyPolicy news updates in your inbox

Sign Up

Sidebar

Perspectives

State Workers Help Us All; It’s Past Time to Help Them Too

Public Resources Should Stay in Public Schools

For Kentuckians Facing Hunger, This Summer Brings a Triple Threat

Addressing Corporate Power Is Key to Tackling Inflation

Cancel Student Debt, and Recommit to Education as a Public Good

Other Jobs & The Economy Items

Total Kentucky State Government Employees 1991 2021

Analysis

Personnel Cabinet Recommends Improving Compensation to Stave off State Workforce Crisis

Analysis

Tracking the Economic Recovery from COVID-19 in Kentucky

5 Recessions Chart

Analysis

Kentucky’s Jobs Recovery Is Very Strong — False Claims to the Contrary Are Being Used to Justify Harmful Benefit Cuts

Ky. Policy

Footer

Research that works for Kentucky

433 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY 40403

Phone: 859-756-4605

General information and inquiries: info@kypolicy.org

   

Help us make the facts free and accessible to everyone. That’s how Kentucky will thrive.

Donate

  • Topics
    • Budget & Tax
    • Criminal Justice
    • Economic Security
    • Education
    • Health Care
    • Jobs & The Economy
  • Work
    • News
    • Op-Ed
    • Research
  • About Us
  • Press Room
  • Contact

Get KyPolicy news updates in your inbox

Sign Up

Copyright © 2022 KyPolicy Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Sitemap

made by P&P
Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!