employment

In a win for Kentucky’s growing agritech sector, Gov. Andy Beshear and leaders from EnviroFlight LLC announced the company’s plans to add 40 jobs in Maysville with a nearly $20 million expansion.

EnviroFlight, which produces black soldier fly larvae for animal and plant nutrition, established its Kentucky production facility just two years ago.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has launched a new data-driven assessment of academic programs to help ensure they align with the state’s strategic goals and prepare students for career success in the evolving marketplace.

CPE is partnering with Gray Associates, a nationally-recognized consulting and analytics firm, to conduct the review. Gray’s program evaluation system provides comprehensive market data on student demand and employer needs, helping colleges and universities better gauge economic conditions and improve their program portfolios.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary July 2020 unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC).

The preliminary July 2020 jobless rate was up 1.3 percentage points from June 2020 and up 1.4 percentage points from the 4.3 percent recorded for the state one year ago.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for July 2020 was 10.2 percent, down from 11.1 percent in June 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Gov. Andy Beshear recently signed an executive order that strengthens Kentucky’s commitment to increase meaningful employment of people with disabilities in the general workforce and support them and their families through the Employment First Council.

The executive order assures that competitive and integrated employment in the community is the first and primary option for people with disabilities who desire employment, and that state policies and regulations are in line with that goal.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary June 2020 unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC).

The preliminary June 2020 jobless rate was down 6.6 percentage points from May 2020 and equaled the 4.3 percent recorded for the state one year ago. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for June 2020 was 11.1 percent, down from 13.3 percent in May 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Truck Equipment & Body Co. of Kentucky Inc. this week began a $2 million project renovating and equipping a facility in Stanton to establish a 43-job custom dump truck body and truck equipment manufacturing operation.

Unemployment rates rose in all 120 Kentucky counties between May 2019 and May 2020, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

Carlisle County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth at 5.4 percent. It was followed by Clinton County, 6.4 percent; Hickman County, 6.5 percent; Lyon County, 6.7 percent; Monroe County, 6.8 percent; Pendleton County, 7.2 percent; Todd and Woodford counties, 7.4 percent each; Crittenden County, 7.5 percent; and Robertson County, 7.6 percent.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) acknowledged today proof of commitment to Kentucky communities from AmeriCorps, a national service program administered by Serve Kentucky, a CHFS agency. Twenty-two AmeriCorps-funded grants will provide more than $7.4 million in federal funding in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary May 2020 unemployment rate was 11 percent, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC).

The preliminary May 2020 jobless rate was down 5.6 percentage points from April 2020 and up 6.7 percentage points from the 4.3 percent recorded for the state in May 2019. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for May 2020 was 13.3 percent, down from 14.7 percent in April 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Unemployment rates rose in 59 Kentucky counties between February 2019 and February 2020, fell in 48 and stayed the same in 13 counties, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

Oldham County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth at 2.9 percent. It was followed by Shelby County, 3 percent; Fayette County, 3.1 percent; Hancock, Marion, Scott and Woodford counties, 3.3 percent each; and Boone, Campbell, Jessamine and Spencer counties, 3.4 percent each.

Nearly 100 employers and graduate programs were on campus for Morehead State’s Spring Career and Internship Fair on Wednesday, March 4. Students had the chance to expand their professional networks, apply for jobs and discover internship possibilities. 

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wastequip, a manufacturer of waste handling equipment for customers throughout North America, will further the commonwealth’s effort to create jobs for all Kentuckians with the location of a new distribution center in Mt. Sterling. The new facility, a $7.28 million investment, is expected to create up to 100 full-time jobs.

If you are on the hunt for a job, watch out for scammers, Attorney General Andy Beshear warned today.

Beshear said his office has received employment scam complaints from residents in Boone, Boyle, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Jefferson, Johnson, Madison, Shelby, Taylor and Woodford counties totaling more than $24,000 in losses this year.

Gov. Matt Bevin has joined representatives from the Personnel Cabinet and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to announce an increase to the midpoint wage in the state’s salary schedule.

The change allows Kentucky state government agencies and departments to utilize their resources to improve competitiveness in workforce recruitment and retention efforts.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products Group will expand its existing operation in Bowling Green with a nearly $100 million investment expected to create more than 50 full-time jobs.

Gov. Matt Bevin today joined General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra among federal, state and local officials in announcing and welcoming the company’s plans to add a second shift and more than 400 new employees at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant in preparation to build the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette later this year.

Officials from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet today applauded recent reports by the federal government that show continued improvement in workplace safety throughout Kentucky, including the lowest rate of nonfatal incidents recorded in more than two decades.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the rate of recordable nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses for all industries dropped to 3.3 cases per 100 full-time employees in 2017 – a decrease from the previous rate of 3.4 in 2016 and the rate of 3.7 in 2015. 

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced the creation of the Economic Opportunity Commission, which will be attached to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED).

The new Commission combines the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs and the Governor’s Minority Employment, Business Affairs and Economic Development Council.

The Economic Opportunity Commission will consist of 12 voting members appointed by the Governor, with the Lieutenant Governor serving in an ex officio capacity.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced The Legacy Companies, a food service and consumer appliance company, will create 60 full-time jobs and invest nearly $6.7 million as it revitalizes a recently closed Bourbon County facility.

Are you a Morehead State University student, alum or community member and looking for full-time work, a part-time position or an internship? Are you considering graduate school or would you like to get your name out to employers?

If so, the Spring Career Fair at MSU may be the opportunity for which you have been searching.

The fair will be held in the Laughlin Health Building gym from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 6. Graduate programs and employers from a variety of fields will be in attendance, including both the private and public sectors.

The Franklin Circuit Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by labor unions challenging the Commonwealth’s historic new right-to-work law.

House Bill 1, passed by the 2017 General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin, made Kentucky the 27th state to extend right-to-work guarantees to all its workers.

The Court’s decision rejected the labor unions’ arguments and concluded that the General Assembly acted both reasonably and rationally in determining that House Bill 1 would bring increased jobs and investment to Kentucky.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the Commonwealth’s Section 1115 Medicaid waiver known as Kentucky HEALTH.

The word HEALTH stands for “Helping to Engage and Achieve Long Term Health.” Kentucky’s new program will improve the health of its participants, strengthen Medicaid’s long-term fiscal sustainability, and promote personal responsibility for health and well-being.

Kentuckians who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and are eligible for the federally funded Employment and Training (E&T) program will now receive assistance from Kentucky Career Centers to meet education and employment training needs.

To better serve the people of Kentucky, several agencies in the state government created a new system for SNAP recipients to access locally available training opportunities and find open jobs.

Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner announced that Jessamine County has been certified as a Kentucky Work Ready Community. In addition, Bath County has been certified as a Kentucky Work Ready Community in Progress.

“I am excited to announce that we now have 38 counties that have achieved Work Ready Communities certification by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (KWIB) and there are 50 counties in progress to become Work Ready Communities,” Heiner said.

Are you a Morehead State University student, alum or community member and looking for full-time work, a part-time position or an internship? Are you considering graduate school or would you like to get your name out to employers?

If so, the Fall Career Fair at MSU may be the opportunity for which you have been searching.

The fair will be held in the Laughlin Health Building gym from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Graduate programs and employers from a variety of fields will be in attendance, including both the private and public sectors.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced that Wright-Mix Material Solutions LLC will invest $8.5 million in a production facility at the river port in Wurtland, creating 130 full-time jobs.

“By expanding into a new location in Greenup County, Wright-Mix will grow its parent company’s home-state economic impact and employment while reaching new customers across Kentucky’s borders,” Gov. Bevin said.

Gov. Matt Bevin and Kentucky Labor Sec. Derrick Ramsey have filed a motion to dismiss the purely political, frivolous lawsuit brought by the AFL-CIO and Teamsters challenging Kentucky’s Right-to-Work Act.

This lawsuit threatens to hurt Kentucky’s families, robbing them of high-paying job opportunities. The historic new law protects employees in the Commonwealth from being forced to pay union dues in order to keep their jobs.

Gov. Matt Bevin has announced the creation of the Kentucky Work Matters Task Force at a press conference with federal and state officials and other special guests in the State Capitol Rotunda.

The new 23-member task force will bring together every department of state government that has a hand in workforce development with members of the private sector.

Their mission is to address barriers to employment and promote workforce inclusion among people with disabilities, foster children, disabled veterans, and individuals burdened by substance abuse or criminal records.

Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner unveiled an outreach campaign Wednesday (May 24) aimed at educating Kentuckians about the numerous job openings in the state and the short-term certification programs available to put citizens on a fast path to obtaining these jobs.

Announced during a news conference at the UPS WorldPort Global Operations Center in Louisville, Help Wanted Kentucky is a response to an increasing demand for skilled workers in five high-demand industries across Kentucky:

•Advanced Manufacturing

•Business and IT

Secretary Hal Heiner has announced that Ballard and Mason counties have been certified as Kentucky Work Ready Communities. Jackson, Meade and Owen counties have been certified as Kentucky Work Ready Communities in Progress.

“I am excited to announce that we now have 37 counties that have achieved Work Ready Communities certification by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (KWIB) and there are 51 counties in progress to become Work Ready Communities,” Heiner said.