By Rachel Nix, Building Kentucky
All major indicators suggest that Kentucky’s economy is healing, according to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber released its latest in a series of quarterly reports tracking the Commonwealth’s economic recovery in partnership with the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research.
“Kentucky’s Economic Recovery: A Quarterly Update of Workforce, Employment, State GDP, and Exports” showed that Kentucky’s economy is still operating below pre-pandemic levels while employers struggle to fill open positions across the state.
Economic Recovery Report Highlights
- Employment in Kentucky grew in the first quarter of 2021 but still remains below pre-pandemic levels.
- Kentucky’s gross domestic product continued to grow in the final quarter of 2020.
- The gap between Kentucky’s labor force participation rate and the national rate is almost a full point wider than it was before the pandemic.
- Kentucky’s housing market continues to follow national and regional trends with fewer listings, faster sales, and higher prices.
The Kentucky Chamber and the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research are publishing a report every three months taking a deep dive into the Commonwealth’s economy as the state works to rebuild, recover and get citizens back to work.
The goal of these regular, quarterly reports will be to inform the public, provide economic trends to business leaders as they make decisions, and prepare lawmakers as they shape policy essential to the state’s economic recovery.
The Chamber will release a third update in Summer 2021.
