By AP
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky's unemployment rate is at a 16-month low. The state Office of Employment and Training reported Thursday the jobless rate fell to 10% in June, down from a revised figure of 10.4 percent in May and the lowest since February 2009.
Labor market analyst Justine Detzel says the state's lower rate is due to a decline in the civilian labor force. Detzel says some people who have been unemployed for a long time are becoming discouraged and dropping out of the labor force.
However, Detzel says in the past year, Kentucky's nonfarm employment has expanded by 26,500. That marks the second straight month that there's been a year-over-year increase in nonfarm employment.