While many analysts report an unpredictable and volatile national economy, the Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce has released a report showing improvements in the local economy. The document compiles extensive data about the wages and benefits received by many working in Morehead and Rowan County.
President and CEO of the chamber, Jason Slone, said the biggest takeaway from the report is that more jobs are being added to the local economy. He said 750 jobs have been added since the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he said wages and benefits have increased for workers across the board.
“An employer, when they hire someone they offer a wage, and they offer a benefits package. On average you can almost expect an additional $10,000 to $12,000 more on top of whatever an annual salary might be for an individual employee,” he said.
Data from the report indicates employers have changed their employees’ pay to reflect global trends in the Consumer Price Index. For example, over 60% of employers in the county offered a cost-of-living increase for 2025.
However, Slone noted some trends in the data raise more questions about the state of the county’s labor force. Many workers in the county commute to work, and officials from the chamber believe the housing shortage is likely connected to it.
“Six out of every ten workers inside of Rowan County is commuting somewhere from outside of Rowan County. We’re trying to change that; how do we do that?” said Slone. “We have a lot to be blessed for, and I think looking ahead we have a lot more work we can do.”
Slone says creating a vibrant and robust economy for northeastern Kentucky remains the goal of the chamber and they intend to release more wage and benefits reports annually.