Five key takeaways about the regional economy in 2023.
The importance of immigrants to the region's labor force
The role of child care in the labor force participation rate among women
Research shows that mothers of young children accounted for nearly a quarter of the unanticipated employment loss related to COVID-19. Access to affordable, reliable child care was a challenge before the pandemic, and has only gotten worse since. The low-wage-work/high-cost-service conundrum of the child care sector has led the Treasury Department to deem the industry a market failure. This implies a need for public sector support, and given the impact to businesses in need of a labor supply, also suggests a role for employers to step in.
How to improve Kentucky's low labor force participation rate and why changes to UI benefits are not the answer
Given the tight labor market we are currently experiencing, the labor force participation rate is receiving a lot of attention. Recently, Kentucky legislators have made changes to the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) benefit program to address the low labor force participation in the state. However, changes to UI eligibility is unlikely to have any significant change on the state’s labor force participation rate. Policies targeting child care and economic opportunity for individuals with a disability and older workers are the main instruments for improving the state’s labor force participation rate.
June update on the local economy
The unemployment rate is an important metric for tracking the health of the labor market. It is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on a monthly basis.
The unemployment rate for June was recently released, and seems to be showing signs that the local economy is improving. But a closer look at the data reveals that the economic fallout of the pandemic is still in motion.
