FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s overall unemployment rate for 2022 decreased to 3.9% from 4.4% in 2021, according to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, an agency of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. 

Last year's data marks a drop from 10 years ago, when the annual rate in 2012 was 8.2% and is the lowest seen since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting state unemployment rates in 1976, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a press release.

“Today’s report is another indication that Kentucky is an economic powerhouse and that we are growing good-paying jobs for our families,” Beshear said. “With the lowest unemployment rate in our state’s history, we know more Kentuckians are chasing their dreams and providing for their families right here at home.”

Nationwide, the annual unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in 2022 from 5.3% in 2021. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ estimate of the number of employed Kentuckians for 2022 was 1,968,121. This figure was up 30,584 from the 1,937,537 employed in 2021 and up 77,012 from the 1,891,109 employed in 2012.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed Kentuckians for 2022 was 79,945, down 9,683 from the 89,628 unemployed in 2021. There were 89,030 fewer individuals unemployed in 2022 than 10 years ago. 

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, are based on estimates from the Current Population Survey of households. The survey is designed to measure trends in the number of people working. It includes jobs in agriculture and individuals who are self-employed.

All fifty states experienced a decrease in their annual unemployment rates from 2021 to 2022. Kentucky’s unemployment rate for 2022 was higher than 33 states, lower than 13 and equal to three states. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. in 2022 at 5.4%, while North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest rate at 2.1%.

“Kentucky’s economy continued to improve through 2022. With demand for workers strong, Kentucky saw more people employed than in 2021 and fewer people unemployed,” said University of Kentucky’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) Director Mike Clark, Ph.D.

Among its surrounding states, Kentucky’s unemployment rate was lower than Illinois and Ohio, the same as West Virginia, and higher than Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.