Unemployment rates rose in Clinton County and 95 other Kentucky counties between May, 2022 and May, 2023, fell in 22, and stayed the same in two (Breckinridge and Green) counties, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
Clinton County finished May with a jobless rate of 4.8 percent, compared to the 4.3 percent rate during the previous month of April, 2023, and slightly higher than the 4.6 percent recorded for Clinton County a year ago in May, 2022.
Those jobless numbers are based on a civilian labor force (CLF) of 3,559 people, with 3,388 being employed during May, 2023, while 171 were without gainful employment.
Across the 10 county Lake Cumberland area, with a CLF of 80,496, the jobless rate in May, 2023, was 4.5  percent, an increase over the 3.8  percent in April of this year, and a half-point higher than the 4.0 unemployment rate in May, 2022.
Among the Lake Cumberland area counties and the respective jobless rate for each, include Cumberland (3.2), Pulaski (4.7), Adair (5.0), Russell (5.2) and Wayne (5.3).
Looking at additional Kentucky jobless numbers released last week, Carroll County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth at 2.8 percent.
It was followed by Spencer and Woodford counties, 3 percent each; Anderson, Oldham, Scott and Shelby counties, 3.1 percent each; and Cumberland, Fayette, Marion and Nelson counties, 3.2 percent each.
Magoffin County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate at 8.9 percent. It was followed by Elliott and Martin counties, 7.9 percent each; Carter County, 7 percent; Lewis County, 6.9 percent; Breathitt County, 6.8 percent; Johnson and Owsley counties, 6.5 percent each; and Clay, Harlan and Leslie counties, 6.4 percent each.
Kentucky’s county unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted because of small sample sizes. Employment statistics undergo sharp fluctuations due to seasonal events such as weather changes, harvests, holidays, and school openings and closings. Seasonal adjustments eliminate these influences and make it easier to observe statistical trends. The comparable, unadjusted unemployment rate for the state was 3.8 percent for May, 2023, and 3.4 percent for the nation.
Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted May, 2023 unemployment rate was released on June 15, 2023.
In that release, Kentucky’s statewide unemployment rate and employment levels are adjusted to observe statistical trends by removing seasonal influences such as weather changes, harvests, holidays, and school openings and closings.
For more information regarding seasonal fluctuations, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics web page.
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 data should only be compared to the same month in previous years.
Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website to learn more about Kentucky labor market information.