As of the end of November, Kentucky had added 35,000 new jobs in 2012. Companies operating in Kentucky are cautiously hiring more workers as the state comes out of the recession.
Kentucky’s unemployment rate this year dropped below nine percent for the first time in three years. Office of Employment and Training economist Manoj Shanker says many industries, including the manufacturing sector, are hiring employees on temporary contracts.
“They’re not sure how real and how strong the recovery is," explains Shanker. "In the case of Toyota, for example, they sell to our domestic market, but they also sell to South Korea and Canada. So they have to look to see what the market is like out there. Are they going to be hit by what’s happening in east Asia and Europe?”
A state lawmaker would like to see Kentucky's regional universities "fast track" their degree programs to save students money and get them into the labor force more quickly. Republican Senator Jared Carpenter of Berea says students are piling up debt and taking some courses that really aren't necessary.
If the Army’s 101st Airborne Division Commander knows what impact the upcoming “fiscal cliff” will have on the unit, he’s not saying. Major General James McConville leads the 24,000 soldiers in the 101st based at Fort Campbell. McConville says he doesn’t want to find out what the automatic defense cuts required by the 2011 Budget Control Act will mean for his soldiers.
Kentucky Sheriffs' Association Executive Director Jerry Wagner says his group hasn't decided on supporting or opposing legalizing industrial hemp. Wagner and other members of the KSA board met with Agriculture Commissioner James Comer Thursday in Frankfort for more information on the subject.
Construction of a new veterans nursing home in central Kentucky could start early next year. Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ken Lucas says bids for the 120-bed facility in Radcliff will be opened in January.
