Unemployment rate drops locally

By BRAD DICKERSON
Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW June 06, 2008 05:08 pm

— April’s unemployment figure in Barren County was at 5.2 percent, a decrease from March’s 5.8 percent.
“As warm weather and summer approaches, unemployment rates have a tendency to fall,” said Justine Detzel, chief labor market analyst for the Office of Employment and Training (OET). “Retailers see an uptick in sales, construction projects begin and agricultural workers are needed for spring plantings.”
For the corresponding month in 2007, however, the county was slightly better off at 5.1 percent, according to figures from the OET.
In the Barren River region as a whole, the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, down from March’s 5.9 percent and tied with the corresponding 2007 month.
Hart County’s numbers dipped from 6.0 to 5.2 percent, Metcalfe decreased from 6.7 to 5.6 percent, Monroe County was down from 8.4 to 7.1 percent and Warren County fell from 4.9 to 4.3 percent.
Statewide, April’s unemployment statistic was 5.5 percent, a drop from March’s 6.1 percent.
In April 2007, Kentucky had an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.
“The housing, financial and credit crises continued to take a toll on Kentucky’s economy,” Detzel said. “There was a decline of 7,200 manufacturing jobs between April 2007 and April 2008. The decrease reflects the economic climate in Kentucky over the last year.”
Detzel said manufacturing has faced a “one-two punch,” suffering from both the weak economy and a slump in the automobile industry.
“Cash-strapped consumers — squeezed by higher food and energy prices, tighter credit conditions and declining household wealth due to falling home prices and a moribund stock market — are shifting away from big-ticket purchases such as automobiles,” she said. “Moreover, record gasoline prices continue to reduce demand for sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks.”