KENTUCKY HAS ONE OF THE NATION'S FASTEST GROWING STATE ECONOMIES

FRANKFORT, KY - July 25, 2003 - Over the past twelve years, Kentucky had one of the nation's fastest-growing state economies. State personal income (the earnings of all state residents combined) grew from $57.2 billion to $104.7 billion during the period from 1990 to 2002, up 83.1 percent. That 83.1 percent growth in total earnings by Kentuckians grew faster than the 82.6 percent increase in the U.S. average. In fact, during that period, Kentucky’s per capita income (the amount of earnings in the state per man, woman and child) increased from 79 percent of the U.S. average to 82 percent - an increase of 3 points. Only 9 states during this period had better than a 3-point gain.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development is the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and new investment in the state. New business investment in Kentucky in 2002 totaled more than $3.2 billion with the creation of nearly 13,000 new jobs. Information on available development sites, workforce training, incentive programs, community profiles, small business development and other resources is available at http://www.thinkkentucky.com/.