Unemployment numbers for the Knox and Warren micropolitan area for December of 2022 have been released and are sitting at 5%, which Knox County Area Partnership President Ken Springer states is not that alarming, but he is concerned with the latest labor force reading:
“The labor force reading for December was 19,436. Labor force includes folks that are employed, as well as unemployed folks that are looking for jobs. That number worries me a little bit. That is the lowest reported number I could find in our labor force reports going back several years. I think that is continued risk for our region’s economy. We are just not turning out the workers that we need in order to grow the regional industries.”
Springer says continuing to interest the younger generation in vocational programs, welding, health sciences, construction trades, or truck drivers, to resume upward growth in the regional industries.
