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Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary July 2024 unemployment rate saw a slight uptick, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.

The preliminary July 2024 jobless rate of 4.7 percent was up 0.1 percentage points from June 2024 and up 0.5 percentage points from one year ago.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for July 2024 was 4.3 percent, a 0.2 percentage point rise from the 4.1 percent recorded in June, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,054,015 in July, up 6,289 from June. The number of people employed in July increased by 4,801 to 1,957,756 while the number unemployed increased by 1,488 to 96,259.

“Kentucky’s higher unemployment rate for July is due to more people entering the labor force rather than fewer people working,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark. “Kentucky actually saw the number of people employed increase in July.”

In a separate federal survey of business establishments that excludes jobs in agriculture and people who are self-employed, Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment decreased by 5,600 jobs to 2,039,400 in July 2024 compared to June 2024. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment was up 23,800 jobs or 1.2% compared to July 2023.

“After adding jobs for most of 2024, Kentucky’s employers appear to have pulled back on hiring in July,” said Clark. “While several sectors reported fewer jobs, most of the declines occurred in manufacturing and government.”

Kentucky’s manufacturing sector decreased by 1,800 jobs in July.

“While estimated manufacturing employment for Kentucky fell from June to July, the general level of employment in this sector hasn’t really changed much during the past several months,” Clark stated. “Employment at durable manufacturers has declined throughout 2024. These declines have been partially offset by gains in employment among non-durable goods manufacturers.”

The government sector dropped by 2,800 jobs in July. They rose by 200 in federal government; decreased by 300 in state government; and fell by 2,700 in local government. The total number of government jobs rose by 3,400 positions or 1.1% compared to July 2023.

“Although the employment in the local government subsector declined over the month, a similar decrease was seen in July 2023 and employment rebounded in August.” Clark noted. “Also, this subsector has actually gained employment from one year ago.”