Kentucky

Kentucky's March unemployment report shows slight uptick on month, stands at 4.5 percent – NKyTribune

Published

2 years ago

April 19, 2024

Kentucky's March unemployment report shows slight uptick on month, stands at 4.5 percent – NKyTribune

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary March 2024 unemployment rate was 4.5%, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS).

The preliminary March 2024 jobless rate was up 0.1 percentage points from February 2024 and up 0.5 percentage point from one year ago.

The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for March 2024 was 3.8%, which was down from the 3.9% recorded for February 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, are based upon estimates from the Current Population Survey of households. The survey is designed to measure trends in the number of people working and includes jobs in agriculture and individuals who are self-employed.

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Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,027,717 in March 2024, an increase of 3,147 individuals from February 2024. The number of people employed in March increased by 1,145 to 1,937,129 while the number unemployed increased by 2,002 to 90,588.

“Kentucky’s unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in March as workers returned to the labor force,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark, Ph.D. “The increase in the labor force represents only one month but does reverse the gradual decline Kentucky has experienced over the past few months.”

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 increased by 9,400 jobs to 2,036,900 in March 2024 compared to February 2024. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment was up 25,000 jobs or 1.2% compared to March 2023.

“In March, Kentucky posted its strongest month to month employment gains since early 2023,” said Clark. “While the professional and business services saw the largest increase in employment, the gains were widespread with most of Kentucky’s major sectors reporting higher levels of employment.”

Nonfarm data is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics program. According to the survey, employment increased for nine of Kentucky’s major nonfarm North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) job sectors in March 2024, decreased for one, and was unchanged for one.

Employment in Kentucky’s professional and business services sector jumped by 2,600 jobs or 1.1% in March 2024. From February to March, employment increased by 600 jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services subsector; 100 jobs in the management of companies subsector; and by 1,900 jobs in the administrative, support and waste management subsector. The sector has decreased by 100 positions since March 2023.

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The educational and health services sector grew by 1,800 positions in March 2024. Employment in the health care and social assistance subsector increased by 1,500 jobs from February to March. The educational services subsector gained 300 jobs. Since last March, this sector has grown by 12,300 jobs or 4.1%.

The leisure and hospitality sector bounced back in March, adding 1,800 positions. This represents a gain of 0.9%. This sector reported 3,800 more jobs in March than one year ago. The accommodations and food services subsector was up by 1,200 positions in March. The arts, entertainment and recreation subsector gained 600 jobs from February to March.

Construction employment was up 1,200 jobs or 1.3% from February 2024 to March 2024 and up 3,900 positions or 4.4% from one year ago.

“Kentucky’s construction firms continued to add workers in March, suggesting Kentucky is experiencing strong demand for construction projects,” said Clark.

Kentucky’s financial activities sector increased by 700 positions from February 2024 to March 2024 but was down 1,300 jobs from March 2023. The finance and insurance subsector added 400 jobs while the real estate, rental and leasing subsector added 300 positions.

Employment in the trade, transportation and utilities sector rose by 600 positions from February to March but was down 1,200 jobs or 0.3% compared to a year ago. Among the subsectors, wholesale trade lost 100 jobs and transportation, warehousing and utilities lost 700 jobs. These losses were more than offset by a gain of 1,400 jobs in the retail trade subsector.

Kentucky’s manufacturing sector expanded by 500 jobs from February 2024 to March 2024. The durable goods manufacturing subsector increased by 200 positions and the non-durable goods subsector added 300 jobs. Kentucky’s manufacturing employment was down 700 positions or 0.3% compared to March 2023.

Employment in the government sector increased by 300 jobs from February 2024 to March 2024. The number of jobs rose by 200 in federal government; was unchanged in state government; and increased by 100 in local government. The total number of government jobs rose by 7,500 positions or 2.5% compared to March 2023.

The other services sector was up by 200 jobs from February to March. This sector had 1,300 more positions in March 2024 compared to March 2023. This sector includes repairs and maintenance, personal care services and religious organizations.

The number of jobs in the state’s mining and logging sector was unchanged from February to March. This sector had 200 more jobs in March 2024 compared to March 2023.

Employment in Kentucky’s information services sector fell by 300 jobs from February to March. The industries in this sector include traditional publishing as well as software publishing; motion pictures and broadcasting; and telecommunications. The number of jobs in this sector was down 700 from one year ago.

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.

Kentucky’s statewide unemployment rate and employment levels are seasonally adjusted. 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. However, due to the small sample size, county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website to learn more about Kentucky labor market information.

Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet

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Kentucky

Northern Kentucky Norsemen claim Kentucky state hockey championship

Published

7 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Northern Kentucky Norsemen claim Kentucky state hockey championship

Northern Kentucky brought home the Kentucky High School Hockey league state championship once again.

The Northern Kentucky Norsemen defeated Owensboro in dominant 5-0 fashion on March 8 to hoist the trophy. The Norsemen, comprised of players from schools across Northern Kentucky, earned their fourth state title since 2017. The Norsemen previously won in 2017, 2019 and 2023.

After entering the tournament as the top-seeded team, two wins brought the Norsemen to a 27-12-2 final record.

The Norsemen’s defense was in peak performance in the finals. Despite Owensboro getting off over 30 shots, senior goalkeeper Chase Bender kept a clean sheet.

On offense, junior Trevor Bauwens led the Norse, finishing the season with 35 goals and 12 assists. Other key offensive performers were seniors Mitchell Kirby and Samuel Mouser. Kirby ended the year with 19 goals and 22 assists, while Mouser had 16 goals and a team-best 30 assists.

Northern Kentucky is now set to represent the state in the USA Hockey High School National Championships. The tournament be held March 18-22 in Plymouth, Minnesota.

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Data centers, election changes and other bills moving in Kentucky

Published

19 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Data centers, election changes and other bills moving in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. — If the current legislative session was the Kentucky Derby, we’d be coming around the final turn and entering the stretch.

Feb. 9 marks the 42nd day of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly, with 18 to go. Lawmakers will continue to meet daily for the next three weeks until the veto period begins in early April, with two more days at the Capitol after that for legislators to vote on overriding potential vetoes.

The filing deadlines for new bills were last week, and many pieces of legislation are moving quickly in Frankfort. Here’s a quick look at bills that advanced last week that will be worth watching:

SB 8 — A reworked PSC

Senate Bill 8 would change the member requirements for the Kentucky Public Service Commission — which regulates more than 1,100 utilities operating statewide — and add two new members who would be appointed by the state auditor, effectively diluting the governor’s power or oversight of PSC membership.

Under the bill, the chair of the commission would be elected amongst the commissioners, not appointed by the governor. The chair’s salary? Also determined by the commissioners.

Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation will help support Kentuckians in reviewing utility rate cases and hopefully hasten the process.

Critics of the bill raised concerns about a section that would make the attorney general the sole representative for customers, requiring advocacy groups to prove a “special and unique” interest in the case — likely cutting advocacy groups out of the picture and preventing them from intervening in cases.

While on the floor, Smith introduced an amendment removing that section and creating a framework to allow advocates and organizations with legitimate interests to intervene.

Although the bill has passed the Senate, it will likely receive pushback from the governor’s office. In a Team Kentucky press conference, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear criticized the bill and the Republican-led legislature’s attempts at moving power from the governor’s office to the state auditor.

“They’ve done these shenanigans for six straight years,” Beshear said. “This is my sixth session as a governor, four as attorney general and a couple of special sessions. I’ve never seen them try to move something from a Republican officeholder to a Democratic officeholder, but I’ve seen them try to move a whole lot in the other direction.”

The bill passed 30-5 through the Senate on March 6. It now heads to the House.

SB 199 — Pesticide warnings

Senate Bill 199, sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, would make any pesticide registered with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture or the Environmental Protection Agency that has an EPA-approved label automatically fit Kentucky’s warning label requirements. If passed, that would make it much more difficult for Kentuckians to sue pesticide manufacturers for adverse health risks later on.

Although it might not seem controversial at first glance, the bill united both hardline Republicans and Democrats on the Senate floor, with many raising concerns about the health risks of pesticide use. Several Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, Sen. Philip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, and Sen. Shelly Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, spoke against the bill and questioned the lobbying power of chemical companies that manufacture pesticides.

Wheeler brought up previous chemical agents that were found to be major causes of cancer, including DDT and Agent Orange, as well as the $7.25 billion proposed settlement from Bayer to resolve thousands of lawsuit that claim its weedkilling product Roundup caused cancer.

“If we give immunity in these cases, we’re essentially saying, if these claims are later proven to be true, and some of them are in pending litigation, we’re basically saying that these Kentuckians don’t matter, these Kentuckians don’t deserve to collect,” Wheeler said.

The bill passed through the Senate on March 5 with a 23-13 vote and will head to the House.

HB 534 — Elections omnibus

House Bill 534, from Rep. DJ Johnson, R-Owensboro, drew significant scrutiny before passing through the House. The elections legislation with several notable changes to current law moved to the Senate on a 53-40 vote on March 5, with several Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.

Some of the bill’s notable provisions include:

● Monthly reviews of noncitizens on Kentucky voter rolls, with a requirement to remove names of ineligible voters and notification sent to the state’s attorney general, along with authorization for the State Board of Elections to work with the federal government to identify noncitizens who are registered to vote;

● Removing names of individuals convicted of a felony whose cases are currently on appeal from voter rolls;

● Allowing candidates for judicial office to publicly discuss their political party affiliation;

● And allowing Kentucky politicians who currently hold elected federal office to be a candidate for two different federal offices in one election, if one of the offices is decided by the United States Electoral College. The only office that applies to is U.S. president.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has not hesitated at times to vote against President Donald Trump’s policies, has not shut the door on speculation he may make a run for the White House in 2028. He would also be up for reelection that year as a U.S. senator, a role he’s held since early 2011. State Rep. Joshua Watkins, D-Louisville, was the only representative to speak out against the provision during the March 5 vote on the House floor.

Other Democrats spoke up with concerns about disenfranchising voters appealing felony convictions, in the event the verdicts against them were to be later overturned. And multiple party members were critical of the provisions pertaining to noncitizens, with Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, calling them “another example of a nonproblem” aimed at riling up voters to be concerned about “a very major situation that isn’t actually happening.”

The bill advanced on a relatively narrow margin and is pending in the Senate.

HB 593 — Data center energy costs

House Bill 593 was filed by Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, with a group of five co-sponsors that includes House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect. The legislation would take steps to ensure companies hoping to build data centers in Kentucky are legitimate and are able to take on additional energy costs instead of dropping them on consumers.

The bill from Bray, who previously co-chaired the legislature’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force, includes several clauses regulating data centers, which are critical for AI usage but often require huge amounts of energy, a hurdle that frequently draws community criticism.

The legislation requires a nonrefundable application fee of at least $75,000 — Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the clause could help scare off “cowboy developers” who buy large amounts of land in hopes of building a data center on the property but are unfamiliar with the development process — and requires the company to pay for an electric supplier study, with provisions aimed at ensuring the data center does not drive up service rates for non-data center customers.

The bill is on its way to the Senate after passing in the House on a 90-4 vote on March 4. It has not yet been given a committee assignment.

Reach Keely Doll at kdoll@courier-journal.com. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach The Courier Journal’s politics team at cjpolitics@courier-journal.com.

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Kentucky

KHSAA Sweet 16 bracket, field for Kentucky girls basketball championships

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

KHSAA Sweet 16 bracket, field for Kentucky girls basketball championships

Seventh Region champion Assumption will open play Wednesday against Calloway County.
Sixth Region champion Bullitt East will face Franklin-Simpson in a first-round game Thursday.

The field is nearly set for the 2026 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls Sweet 16.

The tournament is scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, March 11-14, at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

The field will include at least nine of the 16 teams in the final Kentucky High School Basketball Media Poll — No. 1 George Rogers Clark, No. 2 Assumption, No. 3 Simon Kenton, No. 5 Calloway County, No. 7 North Laurel, No. 9 Taylor County, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 14 Ashland Blazer and No. 15 Henderson County.

Fifteen regional champions have been decided. The last regional final is set set for Sunday night — Paul Dunbar (25-4) vs. No. 8 Frederick Douglass (23-7) in the 11th.

Here is the Sweet 16 schedule: