Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary May 2025 unemployment rate was five percent, according to figures released Friday by the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
The preliminary May 2025 jobless rate was down 0.2 percentage points from April 2025 and up 0.1 percentage points from one year ago.
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for May 2025 was 4.2 percent, which was unchanged from April 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,119,740 in May 2025, an increase of 1,275 individuals from April 2025. The number of people employed in May increased by 4,321 to 2,013,428 while the number unemployed decreased by 3,046 to 106,312.
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 5,100 jobs to 2,057,400 in May 2025 compared to April 2025. Kentucky’s nonfarm employment was up 20,200 jobs or one percent, compared to May 2024.
“Both the household and business surveys indicate that Kentucky’s labor market improved in May,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark. “Kentucky saw an increase in the number of people working and a decrease in the number of people who were unemployed, which pushed the state’s unemployment rate down to 5% for May. Kentucky employers also reported an increase in their payrolls with strong gains in the manufacturing and leisure and hospitality sectors.”
The biggest winner was Kentucky’s manufacturing sector, which jumped 3,300 jobs from April 2025 to May 2025. Employment in the durable goods manufacturing subsector was up 3,100 jobs. The non-durable goods manufacturing subsector added 200 jobs. Kentucky’s manufacturing employment was up by 1,800 positions or 0.7% compared to May 2024.
“After declining by 2,500 jobs in April, employment in Kentucky’s manufacturing sector bounced back with the addition of 3,300 jobs in May,” Clark noted. “Over the past few months, we have seen some volatility in durable goods manufacturing employment, which could reflect a higher level of economic uncertainty across the broader national economy. However, employment in Kentucky’s non-durable goods manufacturing has grown more consistently.”
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.
Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
