Labor Market Area

Labor market counties are composed of counties which significantly exist within the sixty (60) minute drive range of the originating county’s county seat. A county will be included within the radius if the centroid point of a county (a point representing the center of the geographic area of a county) falls within the drive zone. Additionally, all contiguous counties will be classified as part of the labor market with the exception of non-Kentucky contiguous counties which have been excluded by the above mentioned 60-minute drive range and have a border with the Mississippi and/or Ohio Rivers.

	Total Available Labor

		Available Labor, 2006			Future Labor: Becoming 18 Years of Age (2007-2010)
		Total	Unemployed	Potential Labor Supply
	Labor Market Area	62,303	48,684	13,619	104,289
	South Central Kentucky Region	11,070	7,525	3,545	14,634

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED); U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Note: Total Available Labor = Unemployed + Potential Labor Supply. Unemployed - people currently not employed, but actively seeking work. Potential Labor Supply: Determined by the national labor force participation rate minus each county’s labor force participation rate. Labor force participation rates are calculated by dividing the labor force by the population. NA (Not Applicable) applies to counties with a labor force participation rate greater than the national average. Future Labor - people becoming 18 years of age (not part of the total available labor statistics).

 

	Civilian Labor Force

		South Central Kentucky Region		Labor Market Area
		2007	Jun. 2008	2007	Jun. 2008
	Civilian Labor Force	136,362	140,321	982,809	1,002,114
	Employed	129,417	131,152	936,790	939,124
	Unemployed	6,945	9,169	46,019	62,990
	Unemployment Rate (%)	5.1	6.5	4.7	6.3

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

	Unemployment Rate (%)

	Year	South Central Kentucky Region	Labor Market Area	Kentucky	U.S.
	2003	6.1	5.4	6.3	6.0
	2004	5.1	5.0	5.5	5.5
	2005	5.7	5.3	6	5.1
	2006	5.6	5.0	5.7	4.6
	2007	5.1	4.7	5.5	4.6

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

	Commuting Patterns

	Residents of South Central Kentucky Region	2000	Percent
	Working and Residing In County	107,247	91.7
	Commuting Out of County	9,688	8.3
	Total Residents	116,935	100.0
	Employees in South Central Kentucky Region
	Working and Residing In County	107,247	93.1
	Commuting Into County	8,002	6.9
	Total Employees	115,249	100.0

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

 

	Average Weekly Wage, 2006

		South Central Kentucky Region	Kentucky (Statewide)	U.S.	Ohio
	All Industries	$592	$677	$818	$742
	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	N/A	549	1,504	456
	Mining	N/A	1,071	1,504	1,123
	Construction	647	717	853	811
	Manufacturing	780	874	990	962
	Trade, Transportation, and Utilities	485	633	716	663
	Information	654	753	1,235	918
	Financial Activities	699	880	1,321	978
	Services	482	585	720	653
	Public Administration	557	743	936	890
	Other	N/A	818	772	598
		Indiana	Illinois	Tennessee	Virginia
	All Industries	$703	$878	$722	$847
	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	518	541	512	485
	Mining	1,064	1,097	1,095	1,030
	Construction	810	1,058	771	812
	Manufacturing	961	1,013	861	886
	Trade, Transportation, and Utilities	622	776	703	678
	Information	788	1,118	943	1,398
	Financial Activities	888	1,447	1,030	1,169
	Services	588	777	636	813
	Public Administration	703	956	734	1,142
	Other	524	776	892	808

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.