The study, reported in the Kentucky Business and Economic Outlook newsletter, shows the results in sales, profits and employment over the past 12 months and expectations in those areas for the next 12 months.

According to the study, two-thirds of businesses that responded to the study expect sales and profits to rise during the next year. About 50 percent of the responding businesses expect to add more workers.

A cautionary portion of the otherwise promising predictions is an anticipated rise in the prices of goods and services the businesses receive.

"This could support the belief among economic analysts that a strong economy could put upward pressure on prices and cause higher inflation than has been seen in recent months," said Mark Berger, director of the CBER, part of UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Researchers also looked at businesses in the region dubbed the urban triangle — an area in the north-central part of Kentucky roughly bounded by the Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati/northern Kentucky metropolitan areas.

Overall results from the urban triangle show that the economy of this area will likely continue to outperform the rest of the state, primarily due to proximity to large cities and transportation services.

Researchers drew their findings from surveys sent to 2,038 businesses of all sizes selected at random across all geographic regions of the state.