All of its neighboring counties except Boyd
A statewide report on Kentucky’s economy said Monday that Carter County’s recovery from the 2008 recession has produced more job losses than all of its neighboring counties except Boyd.
Released by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the report includes detailed county-by-county employment data and summaries of the nine economic regions of the state.
The study was compiled by Dr. Paul Coomes, emeritus professor of economics at the University of Louisville, from data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It focuses on job and payroll growth since the bottom of the 2008-09 national recession.
The Coomes report shows that Carter County’s active labor force, as measured in full-time jobs subject to state unemployment benefits, dropped 10.9 percent between June 2009 and June 2014.
That translates to 695 lost jobs, dropping the 6,367 existing in 2009 to a total of 5,672 in June 2014.
Boyd County, however, had the worst record, losing 1,068 jobs in the five-year period, a decline of four percent. Available jobs in 2009 fell from 27,004 to 25,936 by 2014.
The six counties in the Ashland economic region produced a net loss of 2,149 jobs in the period. Greenup lost 312 and Lawrence 141.
The only gainers were Lewis County with 59 and Elliott with 8.