Counties with the highest unemployment in Kentucky
Despite a relatively low unemployment rate, the fear of job losses remains amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Kentucky using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in May 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Economists forecast a waning risk of recession and predict that the U.S. may instead be headed for an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." Still, layoffs among major U.S. employers like Amazon to Tesla have sparked concern among Americans. What's more, unemployment has spiked in nearly half the country's states, which often indicates a looming recession, a chief global economist at Piper Sandler told Business Insider. And with sky-high prices after a period of record inflation, savings and unemployment payments may not cover basic expenses for jobless Americans for long.
For comparison, the Great Recession of 2007-09 sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.
Still, as of June 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1%, with little change from the previous month. Regional and state employment range widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state vary, ranging from just 2% in the Dakotas to 5.3% in Washington D.C.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Kentucky.
#50. Breckinridge County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,993 people (404 unemployed)
#49. Pulaski County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,391 people (1,290 unemployed)
#48. Fulton County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,134 people (110 unemployed)
#47. Bracken County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,793 people (199 unemployed)
#46. Edmonson County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,908 people (254 unemployed)
#45. Robertson County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 800 people (42 unemployed)
#44. Fleming County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,979 people (315 unemployed)
#43. Lincoln County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,413 people (495 unemployed)
#42. Christian County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,920 people (1,332 unemployed)
#41. Livingston County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,648 people (197 unemployed)
#40. McLean County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,884 people (211 unemployed)
#39. Russell County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,589 people (353 unemployed)
#38. Morgan County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,510 people (247 unemployed)
#37. Union County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,979 people (326 unemployed)
#36. Adair County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,544 people (414 unemployed)
#35. Clinton County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,431 people (192 unemployed)
#34. Whitley County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,872 people (780 unemployed)
#33. Wayne County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,863 people (391 unemployed)
#32. Mason County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,546 people (381 unemployed)
#31. Bell County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,521 people (491 unemployed)
#29. Wolfe County (tie)
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,272 people (133 unemployed)
#29. Lee County (tie)
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,268 people (133 unemployed)
#28. Rowan County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,524 people (624 unemployed)
#27. Boyd County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,450 people (1,047 unemployed)
#26. Hopkins County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,828 people (1,123 unemployed)
#25. Bath County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,642 people (290 unemployed)
#24. Ohio County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,106 people (567 unemployed)
#23. Pike County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,146 people (1,195 unemployed)
#22. Menifee County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,317 people (146 unemployed)
#21. Lawrence County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,823 people (368 unemployed)
#20. Perry County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,083 people (510 unemployed)
#19. Greenup County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,074 people (840 unemployed)
#18. Jackson County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,289 people (277 unemployed)
#17. McCreary County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,708 people (304 unemployed)
#16. Floyd County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,164 people (738 unemployed)
#15. Owsley County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,144 people (78 unemployed)
#14. Letcher County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,047 people (417 unemployed)
#13. Knox County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,987 people (696 unemployed)
#12. Muhlenberg County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,179 people (713 unemployed)
#11. Harlan County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,578 people (470 unemployed)
#10. Elliott County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,900 people (138 unemployed)
#9. Clay County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,170 people (376 unemployed)
#8. Johnson County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,869 people (501 unemployed)
#7. Knott County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,304 people (321 unemployed)
#6. Lewis County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,457 people (336 unemployed)
#5. Carter County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,751 people (740 unemployed)
#4. Leslie County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,543 people (199 unemployed)
#3. Breathitt County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,205 people (269 unemployed)
#2. Magoffin County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,230 people (305 unemployed)
#1. Martin County
- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,266 people (216 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
