From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh There’s more bad news on the unemployment front in Kentucky, but there may be a glimmer of hope in the latest numbers. Kentucky’s unemployment rate in July rose to 11-percent, the state’s highest rate in 26-years. That’s up from 10-point-9 percent in June. But Education and Workforce Development Secretary Helen Mountjoy says it’s a smaller increase than between May and June. "Even though we’re disappointed that our unemployment rate continued to increase, I’m encouraged that it did not increase by as much as we had been seeing for the last several months," Mountjoy said. Mountjoy says more than 227,000 Kentuckians remained out of work in July, and unemployment claims continue to rise. The state is borrowing money from the federal government to meet the claims. Since January, Kentucky has borrowed almost $339 million, at no interest.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.