Change since July of last year

The region posted a strong economic report in July. More people reported working than the year prior, even as demand for workers eased as measured by online job postings. The unemployment rate was unchanged over the year.

Sharing insightful news and research wherever we may find it.

Policy approaches to benefits cliffs

The Atlanta Fed looked at how states and communities are working to address "benefits cliffs" – when a pay raise or promotion causes a family to lose more in public benefits than they gain in income. It highlights state-level policy tools like benefits cliff calculators, income and asset disregards, and graduated benefit phaseouts, alongside local innovation pilots offering transitional cash assistance, emergency stabilization funds, and coordinated wraparound services to help families navigate the transition off public assistance. Even though significant progress has been made nationally, there's still substantial room to refine these approaches and better understand their long-term impact on economic mobility.

What disconnected youth do with their time

The St. Louis Fed examined how disconnected young adults, 18- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and not working, actually spend their time, using American Time Use Survey data. It finds they're not disengaged, but face real constraints. Disconnected young adults spend more time on caregiving and household duties than their peers, while still pursuing job searches, interviews, and informal work. Their leisure time looks similar to their connected peers.

AI’s impact on jobs

This SIEPR policy brief from Stanford reviews the emerging research on AI's labor market impact and finds little evidence that AI is driving significant job losses in aggregate right now, even as adoption among firms accelerates unevenly across the economy. It highlights one notable exception: several studies point to AI dampening hiring for early-career workers in AI-exposed occupations like software development and customer service, though disentangling AI's role from other factors (like interest rates and remote work) remains difficult. The authors conclude that while AI's productivity effects are generally positive but mixed, current evidence is preliminary, and it's still too early to say whether AI will prove to be a "normal," gradually-adopted technology or a more disruptive one.

The Labor Market Update is a monthly report produced by KentuckianaWorks, the Louisville region's Workforce Development Board. The report gives Louisville's policymakers and business leaders an overview of the local economy through powerful visuals and concise analysis.