By Angela Hatton
Hopkinsville, KY – A study to measure the future of economic development in the Purchase and Pennyrile region kicks off Monday. Pennyrile Area Development District Director Chris Sutton says even before the recession, west Kentucky lost many manufacturing jobs. Since 2007, the problem has only worsened. Now, with the recovery, officials hope to identify new areas of job growth through this study.
"We know that we need to work on valued-added agriculture, energy-type projects, bio-mass, biofuels, ethanol, etc, etc. We know that's a sector, but we need to know what we need to do to align those up with the future, and what we need to do next."
The study will also include at tourism, technology, and natural resources. Sutton expects analysis will take five to six months. Officials will release results at a summit sometime this fall. The West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board is commissioning the study through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.