Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Kentucky rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 5,118 in the week ending February 15, up from 2,085 the week before, the Labor Department said.

The Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research released a new policy brief Tuesday highlighting last year’s increase in the state’s unemployment rate. Kentucky’s

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time reached a seasonally adjusted 219,000 last week, some 5,000 more than the previous week's revised total of 219,000, the Labor D