Counties with the highest unemployment in Kentucky
The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.
Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.
Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.
The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Kentucky, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, 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.
Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market
February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.
"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.
Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.
The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market
After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.
Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.
The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.
In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."
"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Kentucky.
49. Monroe County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,682 people (298 unemployed)
49. Barren County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,394 people (1,173 unemployed)
45. Metcalfe County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,498 people (292 unemployed)
45. Lee County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,573 people (167 unemployed)
45. Leslie County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: -2.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,603 people (235 unemployed)
45. Breckinridge County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,606 people (557 unemployed)
41. Pendleton County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,055 people (463 unemployed)
41. Laurel County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,975 people (1,573 unemployed)
41. Marshall County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,732 people (908 unemployed)
41. Butler County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,138 people (341 unemployed)
40. Letcher County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.7%
--- 1-month change: -1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,485 people (504 unemployed)
37. Owsley County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: -1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,366 people (94 unemployed)
37. McCreary County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,405 people (375 unemployed)
37. Pike County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,119 people (1,398 unemployed)
35. Edmonson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,179 people (363 unemployed)
35. Lyon County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,263 people (229 unemployed)
34. Clinton County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,609 people (257 unemployed)
31. Boyd County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,427 people (1,393 unemployed)
31. Fleming County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,416 people (459 unemployed)
31. Ohio County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,257 people (734 unemployed)
25. Livingston County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,011 people (292 unemployed)
25. Rowan County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,822 people (794 unemployed)
25. Estill County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,119 people (375 unemployed)
25. Muhlenberg County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,087 people (881 unemployed)
25. Lincoln County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,937 people (724 unemployed)
25. Grayson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,547 people (773 unemployed)
24. Wayne County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,991 people (514 unemployed)
23. Knox County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,235 people (767 unemployed)
21. Bell County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,656 people (590 unemployed)
21. Floyd County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,911 people (922 unemployed)
20. Clay County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: -0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,000 people (473 unemployed)
19. Knott County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,559 people (365 unemployed)
16. Greenup County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,884 people (1,130 unemployed)
16. Mason County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,212 people (586 unemployed)
16. Robertson County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 856 people (69 unemployed)
14. Harlan County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.2%
--- 1-month change: -1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,932 people (649 unemployed)
14. Bracken County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,920 people (322 unemployed)
13. Johnson County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,699 people (649 unemployed)
12. Bath County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,164 people (445 unemployed)
11. Jackson County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,972 people (351 unemployed)
10. Morgan County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,774 people (433 unemployed)
9. Breathitt County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.3%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,340 people (404 unemployed)
8. Lawrence County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.8%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,482 people (537 unemployed)
7. Menifee County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.6%
--- 1-month change: +2.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,437 people (259 unemployed)
6. Carter County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 10.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,381 people (1,114 unemployed)
5. Martin County (tie)
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11%
--- 1-month change: -1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,748 people (302 unemployed)
4. Magoffin County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,058 people (455 unemployed)
3. Elliott County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,993 people (229 unemployed)
2. Lewis County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 12.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,486 people (549 unemployed)
1. Wolfe County
- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 13.8%
--- 1-month change: +6.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +5.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,699 people (235 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
