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FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) – Kentucky has released county unemployment data recorded between January 2022 and January 2023.

Between January and December 2022, unemployment data statewide decreased from 4.5% to 3.3%, according to the data. In January 2023, the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, while nationwide it stood at 3.9%.

In Kentucky, 79 counties experienced a decrease in unemployment rates, while 28 counties saw an increase, and 13 counties stayed the same.

From 2022 to 2023, the Lexington metro boasted the lowest statewide unemployment rate among the five metropolitan areas, dropping from 3.4% to 3.1%.

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), Woodford County recorded the lowest jobless rate in Kentucky at 2.9%, followed by Fayette and Scott counties at 3.1% each.

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In the Bluegrass region, Lincoln County saw the highest unemployment rate at 5.4%, followed by Powell and Estill counties, which recorded 4.8% rates.

Magoffin County recorded the highest unemployment rate statewide at 11.6%, trailed by Elliott County at 10.1%.

KYSTATS confirmed the data does not get adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations due to small sample sizes. Employment data experiences sharp changes as a result of seasonal events like holidays, harvests, weather changes, and school openings and closings.