FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 15, 2016) – Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for August 2016 was 4.9 percent from a revised 5 percent in July 2016, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
The preliminary August 2016 jobless rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the 5.3 percent rate recorded for the state in August 2015.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for August 2016 was 4.9 percent, 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 August 2016, Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 1,969,093, an increase of 1,552 individuals compared to the previous month. Employment was up by 1,970, and the number of unemployed decreased by 418.
“August was a rare month in which everything came together for Kentucky’s labor market. The labor force expanded, employment increased, unemployment dropped, and the unemployment rate matched the national average at 4.9 percent,” said economist Manoj Shanker of the OET. “If you have to look for a downside, then it is definitely the sluggish movement in wages.”
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 1,300 jobs in August 2016 from the month before and was up 19,400 positions since August 2015.
Learn more about the Office of Employment and Training at http://www.kylmi.ky.gov/.
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