The president of the South Central Workforce Development Board is optimistic that impending changes to Medicaid will help fill some of the region’s open jobs.
After a court challenge, Kentucky won re-approval last week of its Medicaid waiver that contains a community engagement requirement that must be met to receive benefits. Medicaid enrollees, with some exceptions, have the option of finding work, going to school, or volunteering.
Robert Boone, executive director of the South Central Workforce Development Board, oversees the Kentucky Career Center in Bowling Green and its 18 affiliates in the region. His office plans to hire additional staffers to accommodate those looking for work, and says the influx of job seekers could benefit the area.
"Initiatives like this are new to our state, but I think in our particular location, it could be a good thing," Boone told WKU Public Radio. "It all comes down to how the program is carried out and how people are helped."
Low unemployment in South Central Kentucky is creating a challenge when it comes to filling open jobs. A jobless rate between 3.2 and 4.0 percent is considered full employment.
The October unemployment rate for Warren County was 3.3 percent, which was among the lowest in the state. In a presentation to the Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club on Wednesday, Boone said that Warren County is having to compete against neighboring Nashville, Tennessee which recently had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.7 percent.
"That means the available workforce isn't as available," explained Boone. "Those organizations and companies are reaching out to workers to surrounding areas to try to recruit them."
The November Open Jobs Report from the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce shows there are currently 5,905 vacant positions in the ten-county region of South Central Kentucky. Boone says demand remains highest in the transportation and logistics, manufacturing, health care sectors.
While some Medicaid recipients will be entering the workforce once the work requirement takes effect in the spring, they will only be required to work 20 hours a week and many of the vacant positions are for full-time work.
