Jobless rates drop significantly in FIVCO, Big Sandy

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

FRANKFORT – Unemployment rates fell significantly in the FIVCO and Big Sandy area development districts in April, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS).

The jobless rate in the FIVCO district dropped from 6.2 percent in March to 5.3 percent in April, while the Big Sandy ADD’s rate decreased from 6.5 percent to 5.8 percent.

Boyd County reported the lowest rate in the FIVCO ADD at 4.6 percent, followed by Lawrence County at 4.8 percent.

Other April rates in the FIVCO district were 5.3 percent in Greenup County, 6.5 percent in Carter County and 7.5 percent in Elliott County.

Elliott and Carter counties had the third and seventh highest rates in the state for April, respectively.

In the Big Sandy district, Pike County recorded the lowest unemployment rate at 4.8 percent, while Magoffin County had the highest at 10.5 percent, which was also the highest in the state.

Other Big Sandy rates were 5.7 percent each in Johnson and Floyd counties, and 7.3 percent in Martin County, which was the state’s fourth highest rates.

Johnson and Floyd counties’ rates were the 10th highest in the state in April.

Kentucky’s jobless rate dropped from 4.2 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April, which Gov. Andy Beshear said was the lowest in the state’s history.

Woodford County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the state at 2.5 percent. It was followed by Cumberland and Oldham counties, 2.6 percent each; Henry, Scott, Shelby and Spencer counties, 2.7 percent each; and Anderson, Boone, Bullitt, Fayette, Harrison, Logan, Monroe, Simpson and Washington counties, 2.8 percent each.

Kentucky’s county unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted because of small sample sizes. Employment statistics undergo sharp fluctuations due to seasonal events such as weather changes, harvests, holidays, and school openings and closings. Seasonal adjustments eliminate these influences and make it easier to observe statistical trends. The comparable, unadjusted unemployment rate for the state was 3.4 percent for April and 3.3 percent for the nation.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working. Civilian labor force statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks. The data should only be compared to the same month in previous years.