Some GOOD economic forecasting news for Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville: sales, income)

[EclecticEars]

How jobs growth forecast was done - USATODAY.com

Just released yesterday in the Weekend Edition of USA Today: Kentucky is projected to have the fourth highest job growth rate in the year 2011. In order, the top states are as follows:
1. New Mexico: 2.6%
2. Texas: 2.5%
3. Florida: 2.3%
4. Kentucky: 1.7%

So, Kentucky is not the carrier-ahead, but it is noticeably projected to perform better than its surrounding states. These are next year's projections for all states surrounding Kentucky:
Illinois: 0.4%
Indiana: 0.6%
Missouri: 0.7%
Ohio: 0.8%
West Virginia: 0.9%
Virginia: 0.9% (this genuinely surprises me, I expected them to be near 2%)
Tennessee: 1.3%

It even provided a breakdown of metropolitan areas entirely within or coterminous with Kentucky, as follows:
Elizabethtown-Radcliff: 0.3%
Evansville-Henderson: 0.5%
Owensboro: 0.5%
Cincinnati-Middletown-Northern KY: 0.7%
Lexington: 0.9%
Clarksville-Hopkinsville: 1.1%
Louisville-New Albany: 1.3%
Huntington-Ashland-Ironton: 1.3%
Bowling Green: 2.3% (didn't expect it to be this high)

What are some facts or theories for Kentucky projected relative success, as you all see them?

[censusdata]

If our job growth/ decline was at the national average we would still be better off because of our low cost of living.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by censusdata

If our job growth/ decline was at the national average we would still be better off because of our low cost of living.

True. However, low cost of living does not necessarily equate to economic success.

Texas, while cheaper than the coastal state, has exorbitant personal property taxes. The sales tax is a little higher than ours. What makes Texas tick is their less burdensome regulatory and tax environment for businesses compared to most of the states, as well as the fact that the legislature meets for just a few months every other year. Ditto Florida, although I think their legislature meets annually.

Kentucky has not been taking the drastic measures to raise its revenues that many other states have taken, which may mean we come out better in the long-term. But that doesn't mean Kentucky shouldn't take steps to reduce its regulatory burdens and corporate income tax rates (which get passed on to consumers of products and services, anyway.)

[GraniteStater]

We will see how 2011 goes... Remember these numbers are "projections." Two of the states with the highest job growth in 2010 were New Hampshire and North Dakota.

[easydoesit]

N Dakota is on there b/c the energy business continues to do well there so not a surprise to me.

VA didn't suffer much.

For KY, I am guessing the forecasters are expecting an uptick in manufacturing thus creating a rise in demand for those jobs. I suppose KY has exposure to the industries the forecasters feel will bounce back.

Also, some states that suffered a worse than avg decline will have a better than avg reaction to an improving economy. KY's economy has been worse off than avg.