Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that Kentucky has set a new historic low unemployment rate of 3.7%, since unemployment data began to be collected in the 1970s.
The preliminary April 2023 jobless rate is down 0.1 percentage points from March 2023 and from the 3.8% rate recorded for the state one year ago.
Last month, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. In April, Beshear also announced that Kentucky has seen job growth over pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 46,000 more jobs in the state than in February 2020.
The positive employment news follows an announcement from last week, when Beshear’s administration revealed the state’s credit rating upgrade AA- to AA — bestowed by Fitch Ratings.
This is the first state-level credit rating increase Kentucky has received in 13 years, and it’s the first-ever state-level upgrade by Fitch for Kentucky.
One key concern moving through 2023 and into 2024, however, is Kentucky’s labor force participation rates. In 2022, the Federal Reserve for Economic Data reported the Commonwealth had the 49th worst rate at 58%. As of March 2023, Kentucky was at 57.5% — meaning more than 42% of those able-bodied have yet to return to gainful employment.
