Kentucky’s Economic Performance Falls Short of Claims Based on Corporate Announcements
For a PDF version of the report, click here. Summary Kentucky and its policymakers need accurate indicators to measure the...
Jobs & The Economy
Growing Number of Kentucky Counties Have More Available Workers Than Jobs
New federal data on Labor Surplus Areas (LSAs) for 2019 — counties and cities that persistently have more available workers than jobs — shows the depth of Kentucky’s economic challenges....
The Problem Is Bad Jobs, Not Bad Workers
A lack of good jobs in Kentucky – and an excess of bad jobs paying poverty wages – is holding back our economy. Despite nearly a decade of recovery from...
The State of Working Kentucky 2018
Click here to read a PDF copy of the full report. Ten years ago, the Great Recession was battering Kentucky’s economy and that of every other state in America. Throughout...
An Economic Agenda for a Thriving Commonwealth
Executive Summary The way to build a prosperous Kentucky is to create thriving communities that unlock potential in our people. Every Kentuckian — no matter where they come from, their...
Improve Job Quality and Economic Security
Improving job quality and economic security is one of the five key strategies in "An Economic Agenda for a Thriving Commonwealth." Kentucky can make real progress in these areas by...
Voters’ Overwhelming Rejection of “Right to Work” Law Reflects Its Harm to Workers
Yesterday, voters in neighboring Missouri rejected the state legislature’s decision to enact a so-called “Right to Work” (RTW) in a landslide referendum, with 67 percent opposing the law. Voters’ opposition...
Rural Kentucky Population Continues to Shrink While Urban Counties Grow
Recently released population estimates from the Census document how much Kentucky has continued to urbanize over the last seven years. Not surprisingly, rural eastern and western counties’ populations have dropped while...
To Improve Health Through Work, Kentucky Needs to Commit to Better Job Quality
With the state’s new barriers to Medicaid coverage soon to be erected under the guise of encouraging work, we’ve heard a lot in Kentucky recently about the health benefits of...
Putting Kentucky’s Employment Situation in Context
New data released last week showed that Kentucky's unemployment rate has now reached 4 percent, the lowest level since 1976. Continued overall economic recovery is good for the commonwealth, but...