Unemployment Rate Drops in Ky.’s 120 Counties in 2021 | News

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) — Annual unemployment rates fell in all 120 Kentucky counties in 2021, according to information released Monday by the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

Data compiled by the Cabinet’s Kentucky Center for Statistics shows the statewide rate was 4.7% for the year, down from the 6.4% reported in 2020.

In 2021, 60 counties were above the comparable state’s unadjusted annual unemployment rate of 4.7%, while 57 were below the state’s unadjusted rate and the remaining three, Bracken counties , Hardin and Marshall, were at the rate of 4.7%.

Compared to the unadjusted national annual rate of 5.3% in 2021, 37 Kentucky counties had higher annual rates last year, while 78 were lower and five, Barren, Fulton, Meade, Montgomery and Rowan, matched the figure.

Woodford County had the lowest annual unemployment rate in Kentucky last year at 3.4%. It was followed by Cumberland County, 3.5%; Oldham and Todd counties, 3.6% each; Green and Scott counties, 3.7% each; and Boone, Carlisle, Logan and Shelby counties, 3.8% each.

At the other end of the scale, Magoffin County had the highest annual unemployment rate at 12.5%. It was followed by Martin County, 9.3%; Breathitt and Harlan counties, 8.6%; Elliott County, 8.4%; Leslie County, 8.1%; Carter County, 7.8%; Letcher and Lewis counties, 7.6%; and Johnson County, 7.3%.

The counties with the largest decline from 2020 to 2021 were Marion County, -3.2 percentage points; Magoffin County, -3 percentage points; Harlan and Simpson counties, -2.8 percentage points each; and Russell County, -2.6 percentage points.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than the actual number of people working, according to the Cabinet. Civilian workforce statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentucky workers who are actively seeking work. J

These numbers do not include unemployed Kentucky workers who have not looked for work in the past four weeks.