Department of Numbers

Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Louisville fell 0.2 percentage points in April 2021 to 4.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points lower than the Kentucky rate. The unemployment rate in Louisville peaked in April 2020 at 17.1% and is now 12.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Louisville unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate April 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 6.1% +0.1 -8.7
Kentucky 4.7% -0.3 -12.2
Louisville 4.5% -0.2 -12.6
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with April 2021 data as May metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Louisville, Kentucky, National

Louisville, Kentucky monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Louisville, Kentucky Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Louisville peaked in April 2020 at 114,322. There are now 84,649 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Louisville employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Louisville, Kentucky) is also available.

Unemployed Persons April 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Louisville 29,673 -969 -84,649

Number of Unemployed Persons

Louisville, Kentucky Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Kentucky
Unemployment Rate		 Louisville
Unemployment Rate		 Louisville
Unemployed
May
2021		 5.8% — — —
April
2021		 6.1% 4.7% 4.5% 29,673
March
2021		 6.0% 5.0% 4.7% 30,642
February
2021		 6.2% 5.2% 4.8% 31,612
January
2021		 6.3% 5.3% 5.0% 32,652
December
2020		 6.7% 5.6% 5.1% 33,072
November
2020		 6.7% 5.6% 5.2% 33,925
October
2020		 6.9% 5.5% 5.4% 34,948
September
2020		 7.8% 5.5% 5.5% 35,903
August
2020		 8.4% 5.5% 5.8% 37,321
July
2020		 10.2% 5.6% 6.2% 39,554
June
2020		 11.1% 5.7% 6.7% 43,009

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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