While Kentucky’s job growth has lagged behind the national average since the bottom of the most recent recession, job growth in Lexington has exceeded the national average, according to an analysis of recent state and county-level employment data released by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Although the state’s overall job growth has not quite kept up with the nation since 2009, manufacturing jobs in Kentucky have increased at more than twice the rate experienced by the country as a whole (11 percent for Kentucky vs. 4.2 percent for the United States). Wages and salaries for manufacturing jobs in Kentucky have grown faster than they have nationally as well (28.9 percent growth in Kentucky vs. 18.3 percent growth in the United States).
The majority of the state’s job growth has occurred in its more populated areas, according to the study, which was conducted by Paul Coomes of the University of Louisville based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Roughly 86 percent of the state’s job growth occurred in only ten counties, while 50 primarily rural counties experienced a net job loss during the past five years. Just under half of the state’s job growth (45 percent) has taken place in Jefferson and Fayette counties alone.
Total employment grew by 8.4 percent in Fayette County, from 170,495 in June 2009 to 184,737 in June 2014. The total number of jobs gained in Fayette County (14,242) was second only to Jefferson County, which added 29,229 jobs for an overall growth rate of 7.1 percent.
Some of Lexington’s surrounding counties also experienced a surge in job growth. Madison County recorded job growth of 18 percent, adding 5,065 jobs, and Scott County added 4,158 jobs during the same time period, with a job growth rate of 20.4 percent. Woodford County experienced a net loss of 918 jobs during the same time period.
In addition to the countywide data, the study looked at economic data from nine separate economic regions identified across the state, including Lexington, Louisville, Cumberland, Bowling Green-Hopkinsville, Paducah-Purchase, Owensboro-Henderson, Ashland, Northern Kentucky, and Mountain areas. Of the nine economic regions identified in the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce study, the Lexington region experienced the third-highest job growth overall (7.3 percent), but also the third-lowest growth in manufacturing employment (4.2 percent). The highest overall employment growth occurred in the Bowling Green-Hopkinsville area (8.2 percent), and the highest manufacturing job growth rate took place in the Louisville region (19.7 percent).
Kentucky added more jobs overall than most nearby states, with the exceptions being Tennessee and Indiana. Kentucky’s manufacturing wage and salary growth exceeded all of its border states, and the Bluegrass state also added more manufacturing jobs than every border state except Indiana.
Average annual pay for all industries in the Lexington economic region rose from $37,488 in 2009 to $42,184 in 2014, according to the study, while average annual pay for manufacturing jobs in the same area increased from $50,380 to $60,044.