Thursday morning’s Christian County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Eye Opener Breakfast at the Silo Events Center brought one significant topic into focus.
Economy.
And according to Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Ashli Watts, the Commonwealth’s is “on fire.”
It’s an oft-used two-word punch from Governor Andy Beshear, but it’s true, and Watts noted that thanks to “pro growth, pro business” policies, Kentucky has experienced $26 billion in new economic development announcements over the last three years.
In the last fiscal year, she urged that Kentucky has also experienced a record $40 billion in exports, and for the first time ever in the state’s history, more than 2 million jobs exist inside state lines.
Concerns and roadblocks, however, still remain, and Watts said the state’s Chamber remains focused on 10 key points heading into the 30-day legislative session for 2025:
+ Tax Reform
+ Population Growth
+ Education
+ Workforce
+ Infrastructure
+ Affordability
+ Quality of Life
+ Signature Industries
+ Health Outcomes
+ and Total Economic Development
A chief issue right now, she said, is Kentucky’s workforce participation. Unemployment remains historically low, but the state’s able-bodied aren’t exactly rushing to punch a clock.
For surrounding states, the workforce rate is almost 64% in Missouri, 65% in Illinois, 63% for Indiana, above 62% in Ohio, 66% in Virginia and north of 59% in Tennessee.
Only West Virginia, at 55.1%, is lower than Kentucky’s current rate of 57.9%, and Watts added the cause and effect comes from a myriad of factors that have developed over the last two decades.
It’s these very impediments, she said, that will drive conversations with legislators after Christmas, as Kentucky remains at least 200,000 units short on housing, continues to be somewhat of a “childcare desert,” and lacks major arteries of infrastructure past I-65, I-75 and I-24.
Watts did confirm that early economic indicators are trending positively for another half-percent income tax reduction next spring, and at the start of 2026 — just in time for another biennium budget — rates will fall from 4% to 3.5%.
Tracey Clark, executive director for the Jennie Stuart Health Foundation and chair of Christian County Chamber’s governmental affairs, agreed that local concerns match up with the state’s message, but added that Hopkinsville and its surrounding cities have collected big wins in the last year.
Last year, according to Watts, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce led the way to more than $1 billion in budget savings, and more than $2.7 billion for job investment.
