More than three-quarters of Kentucky's counties experienced rising unemployment between May 2025 and May 2026, according to newly released county-level data from the Kentucky Center for Statistics, an agency within the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. The Lane Report first reported the figures showing unemployment increased in 95 counties, decreased in 17 counties and remained flat in 8 counties.

The county data reveals significant regional disparities across the commonwealth. Woodford County recorded the lowest jobless rate at 3.7%, followed by Fayette, Scott and Todd counties at 4% each, and Boone, Campbell, Cumberland, Franklin, Kenton and Oldham counties at 4.1% each. Fayette County, home to Lexington, was among the best-performing counties statewide.

At the opposite end, Martin County recorded the state's highest unemployment rate at 9.8%, followed by Wolfe County at 8.5%, Lewis County at 8.1%, Magoffin County at 7.9%, Elliott County at 7.8%, Jackson County at 7.6%, and Lawrence and Pike counties at 6.9% each.

The county unemployment figures come as Kentucky's seasonally adjusted statewide jobless rate climbed to 4.5% in May, up from 4.3% in April but down 0.2 percentage points from May 2025. The state's civilian labor force totaled 2,097,040 in May, though the number of employed Kentuckians fell by 4,314 to 2,003,656, while the number of unemployed residents increased by 3,758 to 93,384.

Kentucky's county unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted because of small sample sizes and thus reflect raw economic conditions in each region without accounting for predictable seasonal fluctuations in industries like agriculture, tourism and retail.