Kentucky’s preliminary June unemployment rate dipped to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 percent from a revised 5.2 percent in May 2015, and remained below the national rate, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training.
The state rate in June 2015 was 1.4 percentage points below the 6.5 percent rate recorded in June 2014.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate in June 2015 fell to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent in May 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, are based on estimates from the Current Population Survey of households. It is designed to measure trends rather than to count the actual number of people working. It includes jobs in agriculture and those classified as self-employed.
In June 2015, Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 1,979,652, a decline of 16,012 individuals compared to the previous month. Employment was down by 14,335, and the number of unemployed decreased by 1,677.
“The labor market has improved steadily. We have now had 11 straight months where unemployment rates in Kentucky have been lower than the national average,” said economist Manoj Shanker of the OET. “But there has been unusually high volatility in the Current Population Survey data resulting in some inexplicable swings in the employment levels.”
From Education and Workforce Development Cabinet