South Central Kentucky Open Jobs report shows 5,694 open jobs in May

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce released a report showing the number of open jobs in South Central Kentucky.

However, the South Central Workforce Development Board has plans in place to keep those numbers down.

According to the South Central Kentucky open jobs report for the month of May, there are currently 5,694 open jobs.

The report also anticipates over 80,000 open jobs in five years and over 160,000 in 10 years.

This data is based on a 10 county region and a 50-mile radius of South Central Kentucky.

Those counties include Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Warren, Logan, Simpson, Allen, Monroe, Barren and Metcalfe.

One contributing factor in the number of open jobs includes the baby boomer generation exiting the workforce faster than can be replaced.

Another is the labor force participation rate being 10 points lower than the national average, or 90,000 people not in the workforce.

But there are plans in motion to rectify this, said John Sowards with the South Central Workforce Development Board.

Sowards says one plan is to work better with educational institutions secondary and postsecondary.

He says the goal is to make sure students have the right skills and credentials to go into the workforce.

Other plans include better recruitment of veterans and implementing reentry programs.