18 June 2020 - Stephen Loiaconi (KATU)
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — New jobless claims slowed this week amid signs that the economy may be recovering from the coronavirus pandemic faster than expected, but some economists say more stimulus from Congress is still needed to avoid losing ground, especially if the outbreak resurges in the months ahead.
18 June 2020 - West Kentucky Star
The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet says the state's seasonally adjusted preliminary May 2020 unemployment rate was 11 percent.
The Cabinet says the preliminary May 2020 jobless rate was down 5.6 percentage points from April 2020, and was up 6.7 percentage points from the 4.3 percent recorded for the state in May 2019. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for May 2020 was 13.3 percent, down from 14.7 percent in April 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
While states’ social distancing orders appear to have slowed the spread of COVID-19, they have also had a costly economic impact. Early data suggest that the nation could experience its largest employment losses since the great depression. These losses appear to be widespread, even hitting sectors typically unaffected by economic downturns. As states begin to reopen, concerns about the progression of the virus create an uncertain landscape for state and local governments, businesses, and families. Join Michael Clark PhD as he discusses the economic impact of COVID-19.
24 May 2020 - Northern Kentucky Tribune
22 May 2020 - Jillianne Moncrief (WPSD)
FRANKFORT, KY — Kentucky's April 2020 unemployment rate was 15.4 percent, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics which is an agency within the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
The education cabinet says the preliminary April jobless rate was up to.2 percent points from March and up 11.1 percent points from the 4.3 percent recorded for the state in April 2019.
The U.S. jobless rate for April 2020 was 14.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent in March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
21 May 2020 - WBKO News Staff
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) -- Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary April 2020 unemployment rate was 15.4 percent, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC).
The preliminary April 2020 jobless rate was up 10.2 percentage points from March 2020 and up 11.1 percentage points from the 4.3 percent recorded for the state in April 2019.
8 May 2020 - Ben Tobin (Louisville Courier-Journal)
The coronavirus pandemic has put a bigger share of Kentucky's workforce out of a job than any other state in America, new unemployment figures show.
More than 670,000 Kentuckians — roughly one-third of the commonwealth's workforce — filed for unemployment insurance for the first time from the week ending March 14 through the week ending May 2.
More people are out of work in Kentucky than live in all of Louisville.
11 May 2020 - The Sentinel Echo (London, KY)
By three separate estimates, the coronavirus pandemic has given Kentucky the worst unemployment rate in the nation.
Fitch Ratings, which issues credit opinions on governments and other borrowers, said in a report Thursday that unemployment claims as a percentage of the labor force in Kentucky have totaled about 33 percent, the highest among the states.
11 May 2020 - Kate Elizabeth Queram (Route Fifty)
The percentage of each state's workforce filing for unemployment as a result of the pandemic ranges between 8% to 33%, largely depending on the industries that drive local economies.
Nearly a third of the workforce in Kentucky, Georgia and Hawaii filed for unemployment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis by credit rating agency Fitch Ratings.
11 May 2020 - Brian Kirk (Newsweek)
The largest share of unemployment claims filed in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic is in the state of Kentucky, where more than 671,000 workers, nearly a third of the state's labor force, have sought jobless benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly claims report on May 7, indicating that nearly 33 percent of Kentucky's workforce has filed for unemployment benefits in April.