Department of Numbers

Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Louisville fell 0.7 percentage points in January 2021 to 4.7%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points lower than the Kentucky rate. The unemployment rate in Louisville peaked in April 2020 at 17.4% and is now 12.7 percentage points lower. You can also compare Louisville unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate January 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 6.3% -0.4 +2.8
Kentucky 5.3% -0.3 +1.2
Louisville 4.7% -0.7 +1.0
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with January 2021 data as February 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 112,418. There are now 81,167 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Louisville employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Louisville, Kentucky) is also available.

Unemployed Persons January 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Louisville 31,251 -4,626 +6,386

Number of Unemployed Persons

Louisville, Kentucky Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Kentucky
Unemployment Rate		 Louisville
Unemployment Rate		 Louisville
Unemployed
March
2021		 6.0% — — —
February
2021		 6.2% 5.2% — —
January
2021		 6.3% 5.3% 4.7% 31,251
December
2020		 6.7% 5.6% 5.4% 35,877
November
2020		 6.7% 5.6% 5.4% 36,023
October
2020		 6.9% 5.5% 6.9% 44,694
September
2020		 7.8% 5.5% 5.6% 35,612
August
2020		 8.4% 5.5% 7.2% 47,466
July
2020		 10.2% 5.6% 5.3% 32,306
June
2020		 11.1% 5.7% 6.3% 39,836
May
2020		 13.3% 10.9% 12.1% 77,643
April
2020		 14.8% 16.9% 17.4% 112,418

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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