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Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary April 2024 unemployment rate was 4.6%, according to data released Thursday by the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.

The preliminary April 2024 jobless rate was up 0.1 percentage points from March 2024 and up 0.6 percentage points from one year ago. Since January, the jobless rate in Kentucky has risen a total of 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for April 2024 was 3.9 percent, up from the 3.8 percent recorded for March 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,033,770 in April 2024, an increase of 6,033 individuals from March 2024. The number of people employed in April increased by 3,613 to 1,940,669 while the number unemployed increased by 2,420 to 93,101.

“Kentucky’s unemployment rate ticked up in April as more people entered or returned to the labor force seeking work,” said the University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark. “As the labor force grew, we saw both more people without jobs who were searching for work this month and more people employed.”

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.

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 500 jobs to 2,034,700 in April 2024 compared to March 2024. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment was up 22,500 jobs or 1.1% compared to April 2023.

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

“Strong employment growth in Kentucky’s health and education services sector helped offset job losses that occurred in April across several of Kentucky’s other major sectors,” said Clark.

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.