Lexington is a good place to be in a recession, magazine says
BusinessWeek says Lexington has the 13th most recession-resistant economy in the nation.
Here’s why: “Lexington, home to dozens of major companies, the University of Kentucky, and horse farms, is a diverse economy with a mix of agriculture, government, health care, and education,” says BusinessWeek.
One potential weak spot is manufacturing, which employs 12 percent of Lexington’s workforce of 145,485, the magazine says. Manufacturing is often an early casualty in economic downturns.
The city has 38.8 percent of its jobs in “strong industries,” BusinessWeek says, including 6.39 percent in professional, scientific, and technical fields; 12.42 percent in education, 14.2 percent in health care and 3.62 percent in public administration.
Economies like Lexington’s that are “dominated by stable industries, could be relatively well-cushioned” in a recession, the magazine concluded.
If you go to www.businessweek.com to read the article, you may notice a comment by “Vicki,” who says:
“It (the article) is true about Lexington KY anyway. … We are extremely well-insulated against the boom and bust cycles of the economy. We experience very slow growth. Not an exciting place, but you’re less likely to have the economic rug pulled out from under you here.”
We may differ about the level of excitement in Lexington, but Vicki is basically right on target.
