If you’re having trouble finding a job in Kentucky, you’re not alone. According to a new study released by personal finance website WalletHub, Kentucky stands as the 3rd worst state in the US for jobs in 2019. Massachusetts comes out on top as the best state to find a job with West Virginia as the worst.

In their study, WalletHub analyzed 33 ‘job-market’ and ‘economic environment’ metrics to compare the 50 states. Examples of metrics include employment growth, median annual income, average commute time, job security, and monthly average starting salary. As far as the overall ‘job market’ and ‘economic’ dimensions, Kentucky ranked 43rd in ‘job-market’ and 50th, or last place, in ‘economic environment.’

The specific metrics rate number 1 as the best, number 25 as average, and number 50 as the worst. How does Kentucky stack up? Kentucky ranks 40th in job opportunities, 26th in monthly average starting salary, 39th in unemployment rate, 39th in median annual income (adjusted for cost of living), 28th in average length of work week (in hours), 16th in average commute time (in minutes), and 35th in job satisfaction.

Kentucky’s outlook is not entirely bad, though. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cited Kentucky’s unemployment rate in December 2018 at 4.3%. This number has seen a 0.3% decrease in the past few months, with the April 2019 unemployment rate sitting at 4.0%. Although higher than the national April 2019 unemployment average of 3.6%, this data lies within a range considered healthy by the Federal Reserve System.

 

Source: WalletHub