Beshear: 2022 Marks Best Two-Year Period for Private-Sector Investment, Job Creation

2022 was Kentucky’s second-highest year for new investment behind 2021’s record year.

(Frankfort, Ky.) – Kentucky is celebrating a successful year of economic growth.

Governor Beshear announced this week that the state has concluded the best two-year period for announced private sector investment and job creation in state history.

This year, 248 private-sector new-location and expansion projects committed to invest nearly $10.5 billion and create 16,000 full-time jobs.

Those figures position 2022 as Kentucky’s second-highest year for new investment behind 2021’s record year.

Not only is investment up, but wages have increased too, according to Governor Beshear. Kentucky’s incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits. That’s an 11.5 percent increase from 2021.

“The past year has held many challenges for the commonwealth, from our continued fight against the pandemic and efforts to recover from the tornadoes that hit Western Kentucky a year ago to the July flooding that impacted so many lives in Eastern Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “But it has also been a year of new opportunities, and we have many reasons to believe the future has never been brighter in the commonwealth. Not only does this year mark the best two-year period for economic growth in Kentucky, it also brought significantly increased wages for Kentucky families, a record high for investment in the bourbon and spirits industry, and a diverse economy that now includes the rapidly growing electric-vehicle sector that can support our workforce for generations to come. I want to thank every company that has put down roots in the commonwealth and put their faith in Kentuckians. I look forward to continuing this momentum and taking our economy even further in 2023.”

Key industry growth has occurred in the bourbon and spirits industry, manufacturing, automotive, electric vehicle sector, logistics and distribution, healthcare, food and beverage, and metals.

Since the start of the Beshear administration in December 2019, more than 800 new-location and expansion projects have contributed to over $24 billion in new investments and more than 42,600 full-time jobs announced.