The unemployment rate is up in every county in far west Kentucky compared to around this time last year.
Preliminary March 2017 Statistics from the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet show at least a slight uptick in each county compared to April 2016 statistics, with the highest rates in the four counties along the Mississippi River as well as Livingston and Lyon Counties.
Ballard has the highest at 8.4% and Calloway has the lowest rate at 4.7%.
The rate of unemployment is still not nearly as high as the eastern part of the state, but also doesn't share the significantly lower rates in the Bluegrass region.
Kentucky's unemployment rate is at 5.4%. The national rate is 4.6%.
Note: The rates compared to exactly one year agoalso show a slight uptick regionwide, though some counties fared better. Notably, Ballard dropped from 9.2% last March while Hickman jumped more than two percentage points.
