Council Committee heard about employment trends and projections
The Budget, Finance, and Economic Development (BFED) Committee heard a presentation from Dr. Michael Clark, an Economics Professor at the University of Kentucky on Tuesday about employment and wage trends in Lexington.
The presentation highlighted pre- and post-pandemic employment trends, as well as a forecast of tax revenue for the next two years. Here are some highlights of the presentation:
Current employment levels have retuned to roughly the same as before the COVID-19 Pandemic, with most of the regrowth happening from 2021 to 2022.
Of the sectors covered in the presentation, Manufacturing saw the biggest decrease in employment at a loss of 1,400 jobs, while the Government sector saw the biggest increase with 1,900 new jobs.
Job growth in Lexington is expected to continue, though may happen more slowly than it has in the past
Payroll and Net Profit Taxes are expected to increase over the next two years, but at a much slower pace of growth than we saw from 2021 to 2022.
You can view the presentation slides here.
Council was interested in hearing more about the data that influenced some of these trends, but no action was taken at this time.
