Unemployment rates dropped in 112 Kentucky counties between August 2014 and August 2015, according to preliminary numbers released by the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the state’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
The Office of Employment and Training also reported that the unemployment rate rose between August 2014 and August 2015 in six Kentucky counties, including Magoffin, Martin, Russell, Owsley, Ballard, and Carlisle counties, and remained the same in two counties (Lawrence and Lee).
The overall unemployment rate for the state of Kentucky (not seasonally adjusted) was 4.9 percent, as compared to the national jobless rate of 5.2 percent. The lowest unemployment rate in the state was recorded in Woodford County, at 3.3 percent. Fayette and Owen Counties were close behind, at 3.5 percent each, and Oldham and Spencer counties followed, with jobless rates of 3.6 percent each. The unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in Boone, Scott and Shelby counties, and 3.9 percent in Campbell, Jessamine, Madison and Monroe counties.
The county with the highest jobless rate in the state was Magoffin County, at 14.1 percent. It was followed by Russell County, 11.2 percent; Owsley County, 11.1 percent; Harlan County, 10.9 percent; Leslie County, 10.2 percent; Letcher County, 10.1 percent; Carter County, 9.5 percent; Knott County, 9.2 percent; Clay County, 9.1 percent; and Wolfe County, 9 percent.
Among the state's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the Lexington MSA recorded the lowest overall unemployment rate in August, at 3.7 percent, down from 4.7 percent in August of 2014. Elizabethtown recorded the state's highest MSA jobless rate in August, at 4.6 percent, down from 5.9 percent in August 2014.
The statistics are based on estimates and include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks.
More information about unemployment rates in the state, along with maps and data charts of monthly rates recorded in each county, can be found online at kylmi.ky.gov.