Kentucky Quarterly Workforce Report Q1 2017

Online job postings for lightweighting-related occupations in Kentucky decreased again from Q4 2016 to Q1 2017. After Q3 2016 saw over 8,000 job ads, employer demand for workers with lightweighting-related skills dropped approximately five percent each quarter in Q4 2016 and Q1 2017. Continued analysis will determine if decreased employer demand is a major trend in Kentucky and how it will affect lightweighting employment. Meanwhile, 2017 marks the eighth consecutive year of employment growth for lightweighting-related jobs in Kentucky since the depths of the Great Recession. In 2009, only 232,000 Kentucky workers were employed in lightweighting-related advanced manufacturing jobs, and in 2017, employment is nearing 290,000, a 24 percent increase.