The area's industrial and economic development efforts are led by the Jackson County Empowerment Zone Community, Inc. and the Jackson County/McKee Industrial Development Authority. Besides the extensive work they do in the area of business recruitment, both agencies also work closely with existing industry, offering assistance and encouraging expansion.

Jackson County has three industrial parks. The McKee Industrial Park is centrally located within the county. The McKee park houses Kentucky Woodcrafts, Inc. and Specialty Defense Systems Inc.. Specialty Defense Systems Inc. is currently expanding with a new plant under construction within the park. No additional lots are available at this time.

The Jackson County Regional Industrial Park is located in the southern portion of the county and is the home of two Mid South Electrics, Inc. plants, Phillips Diversified Manufacturing, Image Entry, JC Tec Industries and Jackson County Rehabilitation Industries. Acreage is available within the Regional Industrial Park.

The Jackson County North Industrial Park is located in the northern portion of the county, 10 minutes from Madison County. Phoenix Products is currently located in the park. Additional acreage is available within the North Industrial Park.
 

The Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA) provides tax credits for both new and expanded manufacturing projects that create jobs in counties with unemployment rates higher than the state average in each of the five preceding calendar years.

Companies with approved projects receive state income tax credits and job assessment fees for up to 100% of annual debt service costs for up to 15 years on land, buildings, building fixtures, and equipment used in the project.

The company may collect a job assessment fee of up to 4.0% of the gross wages of each employee whose job is created by the approved project and who is subject to Kentucky income taxes. The employee receives credits for the fee against withheld state income taxes and local occupational taxes.