2017 started in the Lexington community with an uptick in unemployment. Lexington’s Finance Commissioner sees no reason to sound an economic alarm. 
The jobless rate for Fayette County jumped almost a percentage point from December to January, going from 3.1 percent to 4 percent.
Finance Commissioner Bill O’Mara says more study may lend more answers, but he says there’s typically less employment past the holiday period. Plus more people are likely looking for work.
“More people enter the job market. The discouraged worker decides to try again and get in the market, so actually, you have an influx of more people into the market, looking for jobs,” noted O’Mara.
O’mara says a 4 percent unemployment rate is still considered a good number, adding it’s below the economic indicator of full employment at 5 percent. The city finance commissioner says it’s month-to-month trends that can cause more concern.
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