The local economy of Kentucky and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
August 2026, 4.5% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,248
Q1 2026, 1,979,083 jobs
New homes permitted
13,410
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+5,850
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Kentucky, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Kentucky is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Kentucky was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.5% a year earlier. 2,010,261 people were employed out of a labor force of 2,109,516. Among its counties, Woodford County had the lowest rate (3.2%) and Martin County the highest (8.5%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Kentucky was $1,248 in Q1 2026, up 2.9% from a year earlier, across 1,979,083 jobs at 162,989 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,380 new homes in Kentucky in August 2026 (793 single-family and 490 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,183, down 10.1% from the same months last year, and 13,410 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Jefferson County (2,338), Warren County (1,126), Fayette County (1,116) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 87,649 people moved to Kentucky and 81,799 moved away, a net gain of 5,850 (+1.7 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, and most people who left went to Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Kentucky. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.