Unemployment rates in Kentucky fell in March | health

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – The unemployment rate fell in Kentucky last month, the state reported.

The state’s interim jobless rate was 4% in March, down 0.2 percentage points from February and down 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics in the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

The civilian workforce in Kentucky exceeded 2 million last month. The number of employed rose by 8,351 in March, while the number of unemployed fell by 4,371.

“As employment continues to grow faster than the labor force, fewer workers reported unemployment. These gains allowed Kentucky’s unemployment rate to return to historic lows set just before the pandemic,” said Mike Clark, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research.

Job gains have come in several key sectors, although losses in construction and manufacturing are partially offsetting gains, Clark said.

According to March estimates, the state has recovered 93% of the 296,000 jobs lost at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.