Kentucky maintained its record-low jobless rate in April and saw a net increase in jobs as unemployment rates fell in all 120 Kentucky counties between April 2017 and April 2018, according to figures released by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Development.
The unemployment rate for April 2018 was unchanged from the 4 percent reported for March 2018.
That was down 1.2 percentage points from the 5.2 percent recorded for the state in April of last year and remains the lowest ever recorded since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began providing the data in 1976.
In addition, Kentucky’s civilian labor force was 2,053,872 in April, a net increase of 3,678 compared to March. The number of people employed was up by 3,733, while the number unemployed decreased by 55.
“Kentucky’s unemployment rate remained at its lowest level in April despite a slight decline in payroll employment,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Dr. Chris Bollinger.
Breaking down job growth by category, Kentucky’s trade, transportation, and utilities employment added 1,100 jobs last month, up 10,300 positions or 2.6 percent from April 2017 to April 2018. From March 2018 to April 2018, wholesale trade increased by 1,100 positions; retail trade fell by 600 positions; and transportation, warehousing, and utilities increased by 600 positions.
Woodford County had the lowest jobless rate at 2.7 percent followed by Campbell, Oldham and Shelby counties at 2.9 percent each. Jobless rates in Fayette, Scott and Spencer counties were 3 percent each.
Magoffin County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 11 .9 percent followed by Lewis County at 8.1 percent, Elliott County at 7.8 percent, Carter County at 7.6 percent, Menifee County at 7.5 percent and Livingston and Wayne counties at 6.9 percent each.
Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Development