Division of Research & Evaluation

Appalachian Regional Commission

Industrial snapshot: Appalachian Kentucky

Largest industrial share in 2017: State & Local Government, 64,000 jobs, 13.3 percent of total employment

Fastest growth in employment from 2012 to 2017: Food, Lodging, & Entertainment, 8 percent growth

Fastest growth in earnings per employee from 2012 to 2017: Education & Information Services, 5.6 percent growth

For more information, please see the complete report, Industrial Make-up of the Appalachian Region, Employment and Earnings, 2002-2017, available 

for download at www.arc.gov/research. The report includes county-level maps for each industry in the region, allowing for comparisons across states and 

subregions, as well discussion about how trends in the Region compare with those in the United States as a whole.

App. Non-App. Total App. Non-App. Total App. Non-App. Total

Total Employment 485 2,036 2,521 13,420 196,132 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 $36,599 $48,958 $46,581 $46,697 $57,187

State & Local Government 64 208 272 1,488 19,619 13.3 10.2 10.8 11.1 10.0 $46,405 $58,058 $55,305 $58,113 $69,677

Health, Social Services 62 207 269 1,562 22,199 12.7 10.2 10.7 11.6 11.3 $50,695 $56,008 $54,792 $53,807 $56,340

Retail Trade 59 202 261 1,493 19,222 12.2 9.9 10.4 11.1 9.8 $13,766 $31,478 $27,473 $17,906 $22,477

Manufacturing 44 215 259 1,342 13,307 9.1 10.6 10.3 10.0 6.8 $53,926 $69,530 $66,872 $63,583 $77,469

Professional, Technical Services 42 246 289 1,619 28,479 8.7 12.1 11.5 12.1 14.5 $23,305 $39,404 $37,047 $43,107 $61,372

Food, Lodging, Entertainment 37 189 226 1,240 19,155 7.7 9.3 9.0 9.2 9.8 $17,083 $23,319 $22,296 $21,308 $27,685

Farming, Forestry 33 65 98 325 3,552 6.8 3.2 3.9 2.4 1.8 $2,029 $21,616 $15,001 $13,726 $28,111

Personal & Other Services 29 103 132 793 11,170 6.1 5.1 5.3 5.9 5.7 $28,650 $34,230 $32,990 $32,180 $36,353

Wholesale Trade, Transportation 27 180 207 874 14,148 5.6 8.8 8.2 6.5 7.2 $72,328 $59,598 $61,266 $80,686 $83,878

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 26 173 200 1,040 19,616 5.5 8.5 7.9 7.8 10.0 $27,598 $43,200 $41,130 $37,716 $60,386

Construction 26 103 129 775 10,636 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.8 5.4 $42,493 $57,118 $54,167 $53,773 $64,788

Education, Information Services 12 56 69 432 8,075 2.5 2.8 2.7 3.2 4.1 $72,054 $89,625 $86,480 $79,670 $82,520

Coal, Gas, Other Mining 11 10 21 140 1,505 2.2 0.5 0.8 1.0 0.8 $42,873 $4,239 $23,780 $48,966 $67,769

Federal Government, Military 9 72 81 241 4,786 1.9 3.5 3.2 1.8 2.4 $65,041 $81,848 $79,952 $78,938 $91,808

Utilities 2 6 8 57 664 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 $83,853 $99,680 $95,429 $109,314 $125,893

2017

Employment (thousands) Industrial Share Earnings per employee

Kentucky App. U.S. Kentucky App. U.S. Kentucky App. U.S.

App. Non-App. Total App. Non-App. Total

Total Employment -1.1 7.2 5.5 4.7 9.6 -2.7 2.8 2.2 3.7 3.4

State & Local Government -6.5 0.0 -1.6 -0.7 2.3 0.1 3.5 3.0 6.8 7.9

Health, Social Services 1.0 5.9 4.7 5.3 10.5 4.3 4.0 4.2 4.7 4.1

Retail Trade 1.1 7.0 5.6 2.5 6.4 -7.9 19.1 15.8 22.4 15.6

Manufacturing 4.7 14.4 12.6 5.5 5.6 4.3 -0.5 0.5 3.4 1.4

Professional, Technical Services 0.2 10.0 8.5 7.1 12.0 -6.4 3.0 2.6 9.3 7.8

Food, Lodging, Entertainment 8.0 12.8 12.0 11.6 15.1 1.7 14.8 13.1 6.2 8.0

Farming, Forestry -0.4 1.3 0.7 0.7 1.3 -37.9 15.2 11.3 -6.2 -18.9

Personal & Other Services -0.5 4.4 3.3 3.7 7.7 -2.0 3.6 2.6 3.1 2.5

Wholesale Trade, Transportation -1.0 15.5 13.0 6.2 16.8 -0.2 -4.4 -4.1 -0.6 -5.6

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate 2.1 11.1 9.8 8.6 11.7 -2.0 0.8 0.9 -2.5 2.9

Construction -1.4 13.1 9.8 7.2 19.0 -9.9 13.8 9.4 3.5 7.9

Education, Information Services 3.5 -4.4 -3.1 2.4 8.7 5.6 20.1 17.6 4.4 6.5

Coal, Gas, Other Mining -37.1 -23.0 -30.8 -17.3 -2.7 -30.8 -92.7 -60.5 -23.3 -36.4

Federal Government, Military -7.6 -15.0 -14.2 -3.9 -2.9 2.3 -1.9 -1.7 3.4 2.8

Utilities 2.4 16.8 12.6 11.0 14.9 -1.8 -1.4 -1.1 0.3 -2.6

2012-2017

Percent change in employment Percent change in earnings per employee

Kentucky App. U.S. Kentucky App. U.S.