Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Kentucky
compiled a list of the counties with the highest unemployment rate in Kentucky using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Kentucky
Updated
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of May of this year, national unemployment is at 3.6%—as it was in both March and April, marking a three-month stagnation—following a steady drop since that aforementioned COVID-affected peak. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.9% in Nebraska and Utah, to 5.3% in New Mexico and 5.8% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Kentucky using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in April 2022, which as of this writing is the most current Bureau data.
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#50. Pulaski County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 3.90%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 25,643 (1,000 unemployed)
#49. Edmonson County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 3.97%
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 4,731 (188 unemployed)
#48. Breckinridge County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 3.98%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 7,907 (315 unemployed)
#47. Graves County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.00%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 15,707 (629 unemployed)
#46. Hopkins County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.04%
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 18,174 (734 unemployed)
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#45. Fleming County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.05%
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 5,922 (240 unemployed)
#44. Estill County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.10%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 5,216 (214 unemployed)
#43. Russell County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.12%
--- 1 month change: -1.0%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 6,065 (250 unemployed)
#42. Montgomery County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.16%
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 11,772 (490 unemployed)
#41. Robertson County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.19%
--- 1 month change: -1.6%
--- 1 year change: 0.7%
- Total labor force: 787 (33 unemployed)
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#40. Wayne County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.22%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 7,015 (296 unemployed)
#39. Lincoln County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.24%
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 9,279 (393 unemployed)
#38. Grayson County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.24%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 10,534 (447 unemployed)
#37. Mason County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.25%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 6,653 (283 unemployed)
#36. Bell County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.28%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 8,301 (355 unemployed)
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#35. Fulton County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.33%
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 2,057 (89 unemployed)
#34. Metcalfe County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.34%
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 3,896 (169 unemployed)
#33. Morgan County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.36%
--- 1 month change: -1.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 4,311 (188 unemployed)
#32. Ohio County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.37%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 8,877 (388 unemployed)
#31. Rowan County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.49%
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 10,013 (450 unemployed)
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#30. McCreary County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.53%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 4,788 (217 unemployed)
#29. Wolfe County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.60%
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 2,262 (104 unemployed)
#28. Christian County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.60%
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 25,101 (1,155 unemployed)
#27. Boyd County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.61%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 17,524 (807 unemployed)
#26. Perry County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.61%
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 8,065 (372 unemployed)
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#25. Lee County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.69%
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: 0.0%
- Total labor force: 2,049 (96 unemployed)
#24. Livingston County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.72%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 3,581 (169 unemployed)
#23. Knox County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.76%
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 10,342 (492 unemployed)
#22. Pike County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.82%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 19,184 (925 unemployed)
#21. Lawrence County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.85%
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 5,486 (266 unemployed)
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#20. Ballard County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.87%
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: 0.5%
- Total labor force: 3,429 (167 unemployed)
#19. Bath County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 4.96%
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 4,637 (230 unemployed)
#18. Clay County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.03%
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 5,188 (261 unemployed)
#17. Jackson County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.13%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 4,173 (214 unemployed)
#16. Muhlenberg County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.18%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 9,775 (506 unemployed)
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#15. Greenup County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.30%
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 13,156 (697 unemployed)
#14. Menifee County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.54%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.5%
- Total labor force: 2,347 (130 unemployed)
#13. Knott County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.56%
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 4,280 (238 unemployed)
#12. Letcher County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.61%
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 6,133 (344 unemployed)
#11. Floyd County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.73%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 11,107 (636 unemployed)
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#10. Johnson County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 5.73%
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 6,682 (383 unemployed)
#9. Harlan County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 6.19%
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
- Total labor force: 6,718 (416 unemployed)
#8. Lewis County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 6.44%
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 4,707 (303 unemployed)
#7. Carter County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 6.52%
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.3%
- Total labor force: 9,780 (638 unemployed)
#6. Leslie County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 6.56%
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 2,544 (167 unemployed)
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#5. Owsley County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 6.68%
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: 1.0%
- Total labor force: 1,048 (70 unemployed)
#4. Martin County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 7.31%
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 2,311 (169 unemployed)
#3. Elliott County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 7.54%
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: 1.0%
- Total labor force: 1,843 (139 unemployed)
#2. Breathitt County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 7.62%
--- 1 month change: -1.1%
--- 1 year change: 0.3%
- Total labor force: 3,269 (249 unemployed)
#1. Magoffin County
Updated
- Current unemployment rate: 10.54%
--- 1 month change: -1.9%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 3,349 (353 unemployed)
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Originally published on stacker.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.
