FRANKFORT — Unemployment in Kentucky jumped to 9.8 percent in March -- a 25-year high, preliminary figures released by the Office of Employment and Training show.
That rate was a seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for the month and was up over February 2009’s revised 9.3 percent.
The March rate was the highest in the commonwealth since the 9.9 percent jobless rate recorded in January 1984, according to a release issued by the agency Friday.
“The 9.8 percent March 2009 unemployment rate is 3.9 percentage points higher than the 5.9 percent rate recorded in March 2008,” said Justine Detzel, chief labor market analyst for the OET, which is agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose from 8.1 percent in February 2009 to 8.5 percent in March 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working.
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, because of the small sample size, county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
