Education and Workforce Development Cabinet
Jobless rates up in 112 counties from October 2007 to October 2008

EDITOR’S NOTE: October’s preliminary and September’s revised county unemployment rate charts are posted at http://workforce.ky.gov/Oct08charts.pdf. Acrobat Reader is required to view charts. To download Acrobat Reader, please see the end of this news release.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 2, 2008) — Unemployment rates rose in 112 Kentucky counties between October 2007 and October 2008, fell in six counties and stayed the same in two, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

Fayette and Livingston counties recorded the lowest jobless rates in the commonwealth at 4.6 percent each. Other counties with low unemployment rates were Ballard, Warren and Woodford counties, 5 percent each; Madison County, 5.2 percent; Hancock, Jessamine and Robertson counties, 5.3 percent each, and Boyd and Greenup counties, 5.4 percent each.

Jackson County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate — 10.1 percent. It was followed by Clay County, 9.7 percent; Wolfe County, 9.3 percent; Magoffin County, 9.2 percent; Grayson and McCreary counties, 9.1 percent each; Russell County, 8.6 percent; Bell County, 8.5 percent; and Harlan, Morgan and Spencer counties, 8.3 percent each.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working. Civilian labor force statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks. The statistics in this news release are not seasonally adjusted to allow for comparisons between United States, state and county figures.

Learn more about the Office of Employment and Training at www.workforce.ky.gov.

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