Beech Tree News Network

At the end of every month, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce uses data from Chmura Economics to create a report that illustrates the current and future demand (5 and 10 years out) for the workforce in South Central Kentucky's 10-county region.

The report is meant to help further understand the magnitude of providing talent to the region's businesses and provide a framework by which day-to-day activities can be designed and measured.

There are currently 8,151 open positions in the 10-county region, with over 73K open positions within 60 miles. Demand Projections are updated Monthly, and 2021 Q4 shows a 2K decrease in our 5-year demand and a 4K decrease in our ten-year demand for talent compared to last quarter. Again, registered nurses have taken the top spot for most common job postings, with 614, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers sitting at 553 postings.

Kentucky's labor force participation rate was 57.3% in March of 2021 and has climbed back up to 58.1% as of the most recent date from the Federal Reserve. Kentucky is the seventh worst state, an improvement from being the third worst since the Summer of 2020.

The region will need over 3,300 entry-level manufacturing workers and 1,513 Registered Nurses in the next ten years. The region will also need 4,589 Material Handlers, 2,545 Semi-Truck Drivers, 716 Welders, and 939 Industrial Machinery Mechanics. In addition, South Central Kentucky will also see demand for many new engineers, including 414 new industrial engineers, 225 mechanical engineers, 110 civil engineers, and 86 electrical engineers.

If you have questions, please contact Ron Bunch at [email protected] or 270-901-4602.

Source: JobsEQ®. Data as of 2021 Q4 unless noted otherwise. Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding. Data represent found online ads active within the last thirty days in any zip code intersecting or within the selected region; data represents a sampling rather than the complete universe of postings; the listing search uses keywords that are similar to but not the equivalent of the SOC occupation definitions.