Kentucky Quarterly Workforce Report Q3 2016

Online job postings for occupations related to lightweighting in Kentucky increased for a third consecutive quarter during Q3 2016. Kentucky advanced manufacturing employers posted 8,123 online job ads for lightweighting-related occupations between July and September 2016, up 2.9% from 7,892 postings in Q2. Compared to one year ago, Q3 2015, postings have not shifted in a meaningful way. Since Q2 of 2015 postings have remained at consistent high levels, above 7,000 postings each quarter indicating sustained demand for workers. Increased employer demand for these workers has also driven employment growth in these occupations. 2016 marks the seventh consecutive year of employment growth for lightweighting-related jobs in Kentucky since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009. In 2009, only 231,195 Kentucky workers were employed in lightweighting-related advanced manufacturing jobs, and in 2016, employment reached just over 280,000.