Why Kentucky is the epicenter of the Great Resignation
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Matt Turner,Phil Rosen
Dec 26, 2021, 19:27 IST
Natosha Via
Welcome back to Insider Weekly! Hope you're having a relaxing holiday weekend. I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider.
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The labor shortage has been one of the defining trends of 2021.
To understand why, and what it might take to solve it, Insider's economy team zoned in on Kentucky, the epicenter of the Great Resignation. They spoke with workers, business owners, economists, and local lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
While the series makes clear that the labor shortage hits differently wherever you are, it's also clear that what's happening in Kentucky reflects a national story affecting businesses, workers, the economy, and politics. And it's not going away anytime soon. Read on for a Q&A with Executive Editor Josée Rose and Deputy Editor Nick Lichtenberg on the series.
Nick Lichtenberg and Josée Rose take us behind the scenes of a sweeping series of reports looking at the labor shortage in Kentucky — and what it means for the rest of America.
Why did the economy team home in on Kentucky?
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Nick: The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report is the data story of the year. It showed more Americans quitting their jobs than ever before, as well as more job openings than ever before.
In October, it showed Kentucky's quit rate was way higher than the rest of the country. Two editors on the economy team, Bartie and Andy, immediately suggested investigating.
Our resident JOLTS expert, Madison, looked into it. She found the thesis was correct: Kentucky was a microcosm of the Great Resignation and the labor shortage. It's the epicenter.
How do these reports work together to show the impact of the Great Resignation?
Nick: We really wanted a diversity of voices: economists, workers, business owners, and the politicians who represent Kentucky. Madison, Hillary, and Juliana canvassed the state trying to find the stories of real people who are struggling to hire or find good jobs. Ben and Joseph landed interviews with politicians.
Josée: Depending on where you live, the hiring problems can affect you differently and hit you harder. By using real people in a hard-hit state, and then talking to the politicians who help make decisions, we're showing the big disconnect between the governments (state and federal) and everyday people. We want readers to come away with better insight. These problems aren't going away anytime soon, and for some, they'll get worse.
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