Kentucky Annual Workforce Report 2017

Online job postings for lightweighting-related occupations in Kentucky generally decreased throughout 2017, falling from 7,413 in Q1 to 5,653 in Q4. After Q3 2016 saw over 8,000 job ads, employer demand for workers with lightweighting- related skills has dropped in every quarter except Q2 to Q3 2017. In total, 26,647 lightweighting-related job postings were made in Kentucky in 2017. Continued analysis will determine if decreased employer demand is a major trend in Kentucky and, if so, 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 236,000 Kentucky workers were employed in lightweighting-related advanced manufacturing jobs, and in 2017, about 290,000 workers are employed. Despite falling posting levels, this is a 24 percent increase in employment.