As we wind down 2022, I want to update you on the state of our regional economy. Even with talks of a looming recession throughout most of the year, our economy has continued to grow and surpass expectations. Although businesses are dealing with inflationary pressures and navigating workforce shortages, our region continues to bring in new investment and jobs. Key highlights of our third quarter results include:

• GLI helped create 977 new direct jobs and retain 154 jobs that were subject to leaving the market absent economic development support, which resulted in the investment of over $255 million. The total anticipated economic impact is over $418 million.
• GLI is closing the year with 30 potential attraction and expansion projects in our pipeline which represent over 7,000 potential new jobs across 15-counties.
• The Louisville MSA unemployment rate remains competitive at 3.2 percent in November, lower than the national average of 3.7 percent. This number will be closely tracked in the new year as economists predict slowed growth or a recession.

Going into 2023, there remains a degree of uncertainty of how the national economy and labor market will change. A few weeks ago, GLI hosted a conversation with Jim Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, who indicated there may be additional interest rate hikes. All signs point to a period of slow growth or small recession that should have minimal and short-term impact on unemployment rates and may help normalize the labor market and costs of doing business.

GLI is committed to helping every business and our entire region navigate these difficult economic times. We have a plethora of resources available to meet your talent needs and our advocacy team continues to pursue policies to address underlying causes of workforce shortages and support businesses impacted by ongoing supply chain disruptions and inflation. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything specific we can do for you.

Read this quarter’s full economic development report here.