22 July 2019 - Tom Latek (Richmond Register)
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s unemployment rate rose slightly last month but remains below the level of last year.
Figures released Thursday by the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet show the state’s seasonally adjusted preliminary June 2019 unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, up from the 4 percent reported for May, but down from the 4.4 percent recorded for the state in June 2018.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for June 2019 was 3.7 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from May 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kentucky civilian labor force was 2,066,962 last month, a decrease of 95 from May. The number of people employed in June was down by 1,633, while the number unemployed increased by 1,538.
In a separate federal survey of business establishments that excludes jobs in agriculture and people who are self-employed, Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased by 4,100 jobs in June from May. Kentucky has added 20,700 jobs since June 2018, for a growth rate of 1.1 percent.
“Kentucky employers added 4,100 jobs to their payrolls in June,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research Interim Director Mike Clark. “This increase in the number of jobs in Kentucky is well above the average monthly change of 1,725 jobs over the past 12 months. However, the figure is somewhat tempered by a reduction in the number of people working. This pushed the state’s unemployment rate up slightly for June.”