The Perfect Pitch Southeast Kentucky Development

The Creative Capital Investment Assessment will focus on five Appalachian counties with coal employment in Southeastern Kentucky: Perry, Knott, Harlan, Bell, and Letcher. These five counties represent some of the greatest percentage job losses in the coal industry over the past decade and also face the additional challenge of having few opportunities in similar occupations in industries such as manufacturing and construction (An Economic Analysis of the Appalachian Coal Industry Ecosystem, January 2018, retrieved from https://www.arc.gov/assets/research_reports/CIE5-HumanCapitalandtheCIE.pdf). More recently, the rate of job loss has slowed, and there was indication that year-over-year job losses may have stabilized or turned around in 2017. However, quarterly reports indicate that gains in jobs were off-set by another drop in the third quarter. Harlan County was the most impacted by this, with a greater than 10% loss of coal jobs in the third quarter (Kentucky Quarterly Coal Report, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet: September, 2017). These more recent trends suggest a continued, albeit slower, rate of job loss. However, given the continued slow decline of coal and related industries, these communities are at significant risk of ongoing economic decline.