Unemployment rates doubled over the course of a month in all nine Pennyrile counties in Kentucky in April due to Governor Andy Beshear’s executive orders closing non-essential businesses and industries in the state due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, the highest jobless rate in the Pennyrile District in April was in Hopkins at 19.2 percent, up from 6.4 percent in March. Christian County reported the second-highest unemployment rate last month at 17.6 percent, up from 6.5 percent the previous month, while Trigg County’s rate climbed to 17 percent from 6.2 percent.
Caldwell County’s jobless rate rose to 14.6 percent from 6.7 percent in March. The unemployment rate in Todd County for April climbed to 12 percent, up from 4.8 percent the previous month, while Lyon County’s jobless rate rose to 10.8 percent from 5.8 percent in March.
Muhlenberg County’s jobless rate increased to 16.2 percent in April from 8.0 percent in March, while the unemployment rate in Livingston County rose to 15.6 percent from 7.1 percent, and Crittenden County’s rate climbed to 11.8 percent in April from 5.6 percent in March.
The unemployment rate rose in all 120 counties across the Commonwealth in April. Marion County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate in Kentucky at 28.6 percent, while Clinton County recorded the lowest jobless rate at 8.4 percent.
Statewide the comparable unemployment rate for April 2020 was 16.1 percent and 14.4 percent for the nation.
Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work or those who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks.