(The Center Square) – A report released Thursday showed the unemployment rate rose on a year-to-year basis in all but one of Kentucky’s 120 counties last month.
The data released by the Kentucky Center for Statistics comes a week after the statewide numbers for September were released. In that report, the state’s 4.1% unemployment rate was a tenth higher than it was in August and in September 2022. It was also higher than the nation’s 3.8% rate.
Eastern Kentucky remains the region battling the worst unemployment rates in the state. Magoffin County had the highest rate at 9%, with Martin County at 8.9%. Nine other counties had rates of at least 6.6%.
Unlike the statewide report, KYSTATS said the county data is not adjusted seasonally because of the small sample sizes. The agency, part of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, notes employment data can change drastically based on such events as school closures, weather conditions and holidays.
Woodford County reported the state’s lowest county rate at 3.2%. However, that was up from 2.8% in September 2022. Carroll County, halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati, had a 3.3% rate, up a half-point from a year ago.
Hancock County in western Kentucky was the only county to see its jobless rate drop from a year ago. It reported a 4.4% unemployment rate for September, down from 5.5% last year.
The state’s five largest metropolitan areas saw increases as well. Lexington’s 3.5% rate was up from 2.9% last year, and Louisville’s 3.7% was up from 2.9%. Bowling Green reported a 4% rate, up six-tenths from last year, and Elizabethtown and Owensboro both reported 4.3%, up from 3.8% and 4.1%, respectively.
KYSTATS said the unemployment reports are based on estimates for the civilian workforce. That covers people working in non-military jobs and unemployed people actively seeking work. The calculation does not include individuals who have not looked for a job within the last four weeks.
