A development for the state of Kentucky has emerged as a subsidiary arm of Amazon, and is looking to bring a new customer service outlet to the city of Winchester – about 20 miles to the east of Lexington.
The state of Kentucky – along with the rest of Clark County – is looking to offer up to $10.25 million in tax incentives, should they go ahead with plans to bring the customer service center in, and a $250,000 economic development bond to help offset the costs of the expansion. Costs are expected to reach $20 million.
Tax incentives and bonds won't come without costs to Amazon, however, which must create 550 jobs within its first three years of operation. Jobs in question must average an hourly pay of at least $15. But Kentucky's Economic Development Finance Authority projects that once the cost of benefits is factored in, the jobs will pay an average of $20 an hour.
This will no doubt come as welcome news to residents of the area, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary numbers put the Lexington-Fayette area of Kentucky at a 7.9 percent unemployment rate.
This is, of course, before the underemployment rate and the rate of those who dropped out of the labor force entirely are considered, which will make the picture necessarily worse and the news of potential new jobs to come all the better.
Amazon has been seen recently as a substantial threat to big-box retailers like Best Buy (News - Alert), and thus jobs with Amazon should bear a note of extra security as Amazon is improving its position as a retailer overall, even in a weak economy with consumer confidence only starting to make a comeback from its lows.
It's not a done deal yet, though, but for the short term Kentucky residents should polish their resumes and get ready for a new arrival, a representative of the new way of shopping.