Lexington city officials are moving forward with an economic development initiative with grants aimed at businesses, non-profits and educational institutions. Council members got an update last week during a committee meeting.
Amanda Mays Bledsoe, of District 10, says micro grants up to $25,000 are available. She says the funds could go to enhance job training, re-entry, future job training and support scholarships, “Anything that does economic development for kind of the lower end trade jobs, less than 20, 25 dollars an hour jobs where we can really help to spur on economic development locally.”
Mays Bledsoe says the council appropriated $150,000 for this economic development program. The aim is to disperse the moneynext spring with hopes of seeing results the following year.
Also last week, Finance Commissioner Bill Omara detailed revenues and expenses for July. Economists often look to unemployment rates as a gauge of economic matters. Omara says Fayette County’s jobless rate has been under 5% for some time now. “Anything under 5% under the old economy rules was considered a great unemployment rate and we’re hovering around 4%. So, that’s a very good sign for us,” noted Omara.
Omara says the Lexington area has seen unemployment under 5% since August of 2014. During the so-called “Great Recession,”Fayette County’s jobless rate peaked at 8.7% in June of 2009.?
