May 31—Pulaski County is one of 110 in the state where unemployment rates fell in April, according to the latest report from the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS).

At 3.9%, Pulaski's rate dropped four-tenths of a percentage point from April 2021. It's just a half-point higher than the national average of 3.3% and the state average of 3.4%.

Woodford County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the commonwealth at 2.5% while Magoffin County recorded the state's highest at 10.5%.

Kentucky's civilian labor force was 2,062,821 in April 2022, an increase of 2,625 individuals from March 2022. The number of people employed in April increased by 5,080 to 1,983,027 while the number of unemployed decreased by 2,455 to 79,794.

"In April, Kentucky recorded its lowest unemployment rate since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting state rates in 1976," said University of Kentucky's Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark, Ph.D. "This low unemployment rate was driven by two factors. First, businesses continue to experience strong demand for their goods and services and are hiring additional workers to help meet this demand. Second, while workers have steadily returned to the labor force as wages rise and health concerns ease, the number of people in the labor force in April was still below the state's pre-pandemic peak. The strong demand for workers and still somewhat reduced availability of workers created a tight labor market with low unemployment."

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.

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.

Learn more about Kentucky labor market information at https://kystats.ky.gov/KYLMI.