Approaching the winter holiday season, state officials announced this week that Kentucky’s unemployment rate during October was 5%.
That’s according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, which is an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
The preliminary October jobless rate was up 0.1% from September, and up 0.7% from this time last year.
Compared to the country, the U.S. jobless rate for October was 4.1% — unchanged from September, per numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kentucky’s civilian labor force is currently north of 2.08 million, and increase of more than 6,000 from September, and the number of people employed in October increased by more than 4,600 to 1,972,065. The number of unemployed also increased by nearly 1,400, to 102,996.
Dr. Mike Clark, University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research director, says October marks the eighth straight month in which the state saw both an increase in people employed, and the labor force increase. The state’s unemployment rate increased, he added, due to more people entering the labor market rather than fewer people working.
During this last month:
+ Kentucky’s manufacturing sector rose by more than 1,400
+ Employment was up by 1,200 in the durable goods manufacturing subsector
+ And more than 200 jobs were created in the non-durable goods manufacturing subsector
+ However, Kentucky’s manufacturing employment was down 700 positions, or 0.3% compared to October 2023
Furthermore:
+ The educational and health services sector increased by 1,000 positions
+ Employment in the health care and social assistance subsector rose by 600 jobs
+ The educational services subsector added 400 jobs
+ And since last October, the educational sector has grown by 15,600 jobs, or 5.1%
Kentucky construction sector also added 900 jobs in the last month, and is up 1,800 — or 2% — across the Commonwealth from this time last year.
Other notes:
+ Information services is unchanged since September, but is a sector that includes traditional publishing as well as software publishing; motion pictures and broadcasting; and telecommunications. Currently, this sector is down more than 1,000 jobs from October 2023.
+ The mining and logging sector fell by 100 jobs in October, but this sector has 600 more jobs than it did a year ago.
+ And jobs in the financial sector fell by 300 positions from September to October.
