Kentucky’s rate of unemployment rose slightly to 5.8 percent in January this year.
According to the state Office of Employment and Training, the preliminary January jobless rate was half a percentage point above the 5.3 percent rate recorded in January 2015.
State economist ManojShanker says the rise is attributable to January employment stats being released at the same time as the annual revision which realigns labor force data for all state to conform with the U-S Census.
“The January employment statistics are released at the same time as the annual revision which realigns labor force data for all states to conform to the U.S. Census," said Shanker. "The realigned — or benchmarked data — has resulted in an upward revision of Kentucky’s unemployment rate for the past 12 months.
“An improvement in the economy is a signal to potential workers that jobs are available. When new workers enter the labor market the labor force expands. Since it takes time for the new workers to find suitable employment, there is an adjustment period when unemployment rates shoot up, as the new entrants are slowly absorbed in the labor market."
Shanker notes a decrease of 5,100 non-agriculture jobs from December to January while trade, transportation and utilities sectors gained 5,000 jobs. Nationally, the adjusted jobless rate for January dropped to 4.9 percent compared to 5 percent in December 2015.
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.
