The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has found that Kentucky’s job growth is surpassing the national average since the bottom of the 2008-2009 recession, though the Purchase Area has not followed Kentucky’s trend.
Using commuting patterns and television market areas, the chamber divided the state into nine economic regions. The Mountains and Paducah-Purchase regions were the only regions to experience a decline in employment, with employment in all industries declining by 5.3% in the Mountains and manufacturing employment declining 8.5% in the Paducah-Purchase between July 2009 and December 2013.
Mark Manning, Executive Director of the Murray Calloway Economic Development Corp, said the information released is not detailed enough to judge the economic health of the region. He says though there have been severe dislocations, or lay-offs, in the region as a whole, the economy of the purchase can be better understood county by county. Paducah Economic Development CEO Chad Chancellor was unavailable for comment.
Manning said that Calloway County has remained stable through the waves of the recession due to the employment base of Murray State University and the manufacturing industry of the county. Pella and Briggs & Stratton picked up the extra work from the closing of sister plants in other areas, which has benefited the manufacturing economy of Calloway.
Mary Anne Medlock, Special Projects Coordinator for the Purchase Area Development District, said though 2013 saw 782 reported dislocations in the area, there were also 1,132 jobs announced. She expects the region to see further growth in the coming years.
Medlock said the Chamber’s initial release of information from its economic analysis is a teaser for the Chamber’s detailed presentation of its findings at its Business Summit and Annual Meeting in Louisville July 22.
