A Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce labor market analysis listed the Northern Kentucky cities of Hebron, Erlanger and Florence as three of the fastest-growing employment centers in the Greater Cincinnati region.
From 2017-22, Florence, which the analysis lists as the second largest regional employment center behind downtown Cincinnati, grew its total number of employees by 9.3%, going from 53,642 to 58,646.
Over the same period, Hebron experienced significant growth from 18,000 to 27,309 total employees, a 51.7% increase.
While Erlanger was not in the ten fastest growing regional employment centers regarding total employees, they were the fifth fastest growing in terms of absolute change. Erlanger added 1,928 employees from 2017-22, a 12.2% increase.
“Hebron, Erlanger, and Florence have achieved some of the largest job growth in the region over the past five years, thanks in large part to the development of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and the surrounding areas,” said Brandon Rudd, director at the Center for Research and Data at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber.
Hebron’s rapid employee growth can be attributed to the supply chain/logistics expansion at CVG.
In 2021, Amazon opened its $1.5 billion global air cargo hub at CVG creating thousands of jobs in the area. Their 1,100-acre campus can support a fleet of up to 100 Amazon Prime cargo planes. DHL also has a global air cargo hub at CVG.
Amazon is the second largest employer in Northern Kentucky while DHL is the sixth, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Northern Kentucky regional economic development company BE NKY projects a 25% employment growth in NKY’s transportation and logistics sector. BE NKY highlighted supply chain/logistics as one of Northern Kentucky’s four most important economic sectors going forward.
Transportation and materials moving jobs are the fastest-growing occupation sectors in the Greater Cincinnati region, according to the analysis. The sector grew from 88,979 jobs in 2012 to 115,040 in 2022.
It is also the second largest in terms of total jobs in the Cincinnati region. Over those 10 years, total jobs in the sector grew by 29%. Boone County, specifically the towns of Hebron and Florence, have high amounts of transportation and materials moving jobs.
Florence and Erlanger have benefitted secondhand from the growth of CVG. Both are located less than ten miles away from the airport. The presence of multinational corporations like Amazon and DHL has increased the economic desirability of surrounding cities like Erlanger and Florence. This helps both cities to be seen as viable candidates to land expanding or relocating companies who want to be located closer to CVG.
“The growth of our region relies heavily on the presence of a diverse and well-educated talent pool,” said Brendon Cull, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. “More people bring more demand for products and services which generates economic growth, and a thriving talent base leads to a surge in creativity, innovation, inclusion, and culture.”
The Cincinnati Regional Chamber’s analysis used datasets published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Census Bureau and Lightcast consulting firm.
