FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky's unemployment rate has reached its highest level in more than two decades.
It topped 9 percent last month for the first time since 1986.
The Office of Employment and Training released Kentucky's seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate figures Thursday. The report says Kentucky's unemployment rate in February reached 9.2 percent, up from 8.8 percent the month before.
The report estimates there were nearly 192,000 unemployed people in Kentucky last month. That's nearly 79,000 more than February 2008.
Unemployment in Kentucky is worse than the national rate, which was at 8.1 percent in February, the report says.
Mining jobs rose by 300 in February 2009, making it the only sector to post an increase during the month.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
