Kentucky unemployment rate stays same at 5.3 percent

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary January 2025 unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, which was unchanged from December, but up 0.6 percent from a year ago, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for January 2025 was 4 percent, which was down 0.1 percentage points from December 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,109,358 in January 2025, an increase of 3,931 individuals from December 2024. The number of people employed in January increased by 4,144 to 1,996,971 while the number unemployed decreased by 213 to 112,387.
“Kentucky’s unemployment rate held steady as workers found jobs at roughly the same rate as workers entered the labor force,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark. “Current estimates indicate that the civilian labor force grew throughout most of 2024 before waning in the last quarter. Growth resumed in January.”
In a separate federal survey of business establishments, excluding jobs in agriculture and people who are self-employed, Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment fell by 4,900 jobs to 2,039,900 in January 2025 compared to December 2024. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment rose by 10,100 jobs or 0.5 percent, compared to January 2024.
“Kentucky’s employers reported fewer jobs in January across all but one of Kentucky’s major industrial sectors,” said Clark. “While January’s employment estimates were lower than December’s, employment has generally been increasing in recent months. It is not uncommon for employment to decline in a single month even when the general trend shows employment growing. Therefore, a single month decline does not by itself suggest a change in the overall trend.”
Civilian labor force statistics include nonmilitary 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.