Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for October 2016 was 5.1 percent from a revised 5 percent in September 2016, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

The preliminary October 2016 jobless rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the 5.5 percent rate recorded for the state in October 2015. The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for October 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 October 2016, Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 1,996,795, an increase of 14,997 individuals compared to the previous month. Employment was up by 12,931, and the number of unemployed increased by 2,066. Read More