# Kentucky's 2025 jobless rate of 4.6% tops national average  
**Published:** 2026-04-09T14:00:14.000Z  
**Source:** [KY Education & Workforce Cabinet](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=EducationCabinet&prId=812)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/kentucky-s-2025-jobless-rate-of-4-6-tops-national-average

Kentucky's annual unemployment rate for 2025 was 4.6%, according to the [Kentucky Center for Statistics](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=EducationCabinet&prId=812), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. The rate exceeded the national average of 4.3%, placing Kentucky among the states with higher joblessness.

[Kentucky's unemployment rate for 2025 was higher than 39 states, lower than eight states and equal to two states](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/). [Kentucky, along with Illinois and Ohio, had the highest unemployment rate among its surrounding states](https://www.kentuckytoday.com/news/kentuckys-2025-unemployment-rate-higher-than-national-average/article_c8618ef9-d70b-4cca-bb9f-a44537e302a6.html). California reported the highest rate nationally at 5.5%, while South Dakota had the lowest at 2.1%.

[An estimated 2,018,309 Kentuckians were employed in 2025, while 97,280 were unemployed](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/), out of a civilian labor force of approximately 2.1 million.

The Kentucky economy showed signs of weakness throughout the year. [Kentucky's nonfarm annual average payroll employment decreased by 3,400 or 0.2% to 2,033,100 jobs](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/), according to federal survey data. "[The business survey suggests that the labor market weakened during 2025,](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/)" said University of Kentucky's Center for Business and Economic Research Director Mike Clark.

[Kentucky's manufacturing sector contracted by 5,200 jobs or 2% in 2025](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/), with particularly steep losses in durable goods manufacturing. [The private educational and health services sector expanded by 5,000 jobs in 2025](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/), providing some offset to broader employment declines across the state.

[Statewide averages for 2025 are based on 11 months of data due to a lapse in federal appropriations that prevented October 2025 data collection](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/), making comparisons to prior annual averages not strictly comparable.

## Sources

- [KY Education & Workforce Cabinet](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=EducationCabinet&prId=812)
- [Lane Report coverage of 2025 Kentucky employment statistics](https://www.lanereport.com/187093/2026/04/ky-annual-employment-rate-for-2025-reports-4-6/)
- [Kentucky Today report on annual unemployment rate](https://www.kentuckytoday.com/news/kentuckys-2025-unemployment-rate-higher-than-national-average/article_c8618ef9-d70b-4cca-bb9f-a44537e302a6.html)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from KY Education & Workforce Cabinet, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=EducationCabinet&prId=812.