Kentucky Designates October as Manufacturing Month; Sector Employs 260,000, Adds $47.5 Billion to GDP
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on October 6 designated October as Manufacturing Month in the commonwealth and released new figures on the sector's weight in the state economy. Manufacturing now employs more than 260,000 Kentuckians and contributes about $47.5 billion annually to the state's gross domestic product. Since the current administration took office in 2019, manufacturers have announced more than 970 new-location and expansion projects in Kentucky, representing over $46.2 billion in investment and more than 48,000 full-time jobs. In 2025 alone, the sector accounted for $9.3 billion in new investment and more than 7,500 jobs, roughly 89.8 percent of all corporate investment and about 79 percent of job creation statewide. Beshear said industries from food and beverage to automotive and aerospace sit at the center of Kentucky's record economic growth. State officials said the past six years mark the strongest period of private-sector growth on record, with manufacturing expansion also lifting wages for families across the state. During Manufacturing Month, plants across the state will host open houses, job fairs and campus outreach, with apprenticeships and career-technical education used to steer students toward manufacturing careers.
(Source: Office of the Governor of Kentucky)
Source: Office of the Governor of Kentucky
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：路易斯维尔的制造业厂房（Standard Sanitary 公司厂房）。摄影：Nyttend，公有领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons
