Believe It, Or Not: Ad Campaign's Statement That Kentucky Has Lost 94,000 ... And Kentucky's Unemployment's Up 75 Percent" Since Steve Beshear Took Office Are ALL TRUE!

Campaign Watchdog: Claims of increased unemployment true

Throughout this year's campaign for governor, the Herald-Leader will fact-check statements made by candidates and their surrogates.

The statement: "Kentucky has lost 94,000 jobs" and "Kentucky's unemployment's up 75 percent."

— Bluegrass Prosperity, a group associated with the Republican Governors Association, in a television ad this week in support of Senate President David Williams' bid for governor.

The ruling: True

The facts: The ad focuses on Kentucky job losses during the administration of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 8.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kentucky's unemployment rate in December 2007, when Beshear took office, was 5.6 percent. In May 2011, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, an increase of 75 percent.

Similarly, in December of 2007, the number of unemployed in Kentucky was 112,470. In May of 2011, the number of unemployed was 207,013. The difference between 207,013 and 112,470 is 94,543.

However, higher unemployment has not been unique to Kentucky.

In December 2007, the national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. It was 9.1 percent in May 2011, an increase of 82 percent.

The unemployment rate last month in Kentucky was 9.6 percent, the lowest since 9.2 percent in January 2009.

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/07/27/1826304/campaign-watchdog-claims-of-increased.html#ixzz1TLu4dIKL

Editor's comment: watch the video below:



Update: in a bit of good economic news today, applications for unemployment benefits dropped to lowest level since April. Read about it here.