Kentucky jobless rate rises in December

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky officials say the state’s unemployment rate increased at the end of last year.

The state Office of Employment and Training said Thursday that the preliminary jobless rate in December rose to 5.3 percent from a revised 5 percent in November.

The December rate was still below the 5.5 percent statewide rate in December 2014.

The state says the professional and business services sector jumped by 4,600 positions last month from November. Among other employment gains that occurred were in the educational and health services sector, as well as in construction and manufacturing.

Employment dropped in the leisure and hospitality, mining and logging and the trade, transportation and utilities sectors.

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