Kentucky's jobless rate holds steady at 8.2 percent for June

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky’s unemployment rate in June held at 8.2 percent for the second straight month, according to the state’s Office of Employment and Training.

That jobless rate was 1.4 percentage points lower than the 9.6 percent rate recorded for the state in June 2011.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate mirrored the U.S. jobless rate which also stood at 8.2 percent – the same as in May 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“We continue to be on a growth path,” Manoj Shanker, an economist with the office which is an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, said in a release. “We have added more than 4,000 jobs for two months in a row. Job growth continues to outstrip the number of people entering the job market, helping to keep down the unemployment rate.”

In June 2012, Kentucky’s civilian labor force totaled 2,068,524, an increase of 2,622 individuals compared to the previous month.