Only Kentucky county with a lower jobless rate than a year ago is the site of a big new coal mine

Unemployment in 119 of the 120 counties in Kentucky was higher in December than it was in December 2008, says a news release from the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. The only county where unemployment didn't rise was Union County, the site of a new Alliance Coal mine. The release didn't note that, simply saying, "Union County, the only county rate to decrease compared to last year, fell from 10.5 percent in December 2008 to 10.1 percent in December 2009. This is the first time since January 2009 that all 120 counties' rates have not risen over the same month the previous year." (Read more)

In September, the River View Coal underground mine near Waverly officially began operations, Carrie Dillard of the Union County Advocate reported. The mine is expected to bring 600 new jobs by July. Gov. Steve Beshear, other state officials and University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari (right, with a local official) were among those attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Alliance President Joe Craft is a major supporter of the UK basketball program. (Advocate photo by Dillard) (Read more)

UPDATE, Jan. 30: The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the decline "came primarily because some of the people in the county got discouraged and stopped looking for work. Unemployment statistics don't count people who have not looked for employment in the last four weeks. Office of Employment and Training spokeswoman Kim Saylor Brannock said the county had about 300 fewer people looking for work, skewing its rate." (Read more)