Kentucky labor force, unemployment rate shows slight increase

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says county-by county unemployment is up slightly from last year. But that’s because more people are entering the Commonwealth’s labor force.

The center reported last week the Commonwealth’s overall unemployment rate was 4.7 percent. That’s up half a percentage point from one year ago.

But Mike Clark, Director of the University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research, says that’s nothing to be concerned about. Surveys say it comes as more Kentuckians are actively trying to find jobs.

“If you actually look at the number of people employed in July 2024 compared to July 2023, you see we have more people working this year than we had this time last year,” Clark said.

Clark says the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate tends to follow the national trend. The national unemployment rate was 3.5 percent last year and has risen by 0.8 percent.

“As the national economy improves, Kentucky will tend to improve as well,” Clark said. “And part of what we're seeing, both nationally and in Kentucky, is if you look back over the last 16 months or so, what you'll see is that we're coming up at historically low unemployment rate.”

Since last year, Kentucky has added 3,900 jobs in the construction sector and 15,200 jobs in the education and health services sector. The Commonwealth lost about 3,500 jobs in manufacturing.

Kentucky’s labor force grew by more than 6,289 from June to July for a total of 2,054,015. Of that number, 4,801 more Kentuckians were employed and 1,488 more were unemployed.

Since last year, Kentucky has added 3,900 jobs in the construction sector and 15,200 jobs in the education and health services sector. The Commonwealth lost about 3,500 jobs in manufacturing.

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