Study shows Lexington better than most in jobs recovery

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – While the economic reopening from the coronavirus shutdown has been slow, some indicators are showing progress, including the job market showing signs of healing.

The national unemployment rate is currently at 13.3%, which is 10% lower than the peak of 14.7% during the height of the pandemic.

While cities across the country are expanding the types of businesses that are open in accordance with their states’ guidelines, it will likely take a long time for the unemployment rate to return to the historic low it experienced prior to the coronavirus crisis.

Some cities’ jobs have weathered the storm better than others, though.

In order to identify where workers have been most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, online financial website WalletHub compared 180 cities based on three key metrics.

The study looked at the change in each city’s unemployment rate during May 2020, the latest month for which data is available, compared to May 2019 and January 2020. It also factored in each city’s overall unemployment rate.

For the good news, the Lexington area ranks 20th nationwide and Louisville is 32nd in recovery, according to the Wallethub study. Interestingly, few towns in the region are near the top of the list. Knoxville, Tenn., is 35th and Indianapolis is 54th, but most of the other top cities are in places like Florida and Arizona, which now are having to scale back their reopenings because of new surges in the illness.

Below are some of the highlights on findings from Lexington:

• 164.95% Change in Unemployment (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 15,574 unemployed people in May 2020 vs 5,878 in May 2019;
  • 24th best recovery in the U.S.
• 152.99% Change in Unemployment (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 15,574 unemployed people in May 2020 vs 6,156 in January 2020;
  • 32nd best recovery in the U.S.
• 9.10% Official Unemployment Rate (May 2020) (Adjusted Rate*: 11.22%)
  • 21st lowest unemployment rate in the U.S.

*Adjusted for the BLS error that failed to classify workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed.

The report uses new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which recently admitted it erroneously didn’t count many workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed. Therefore, the real unemployment rate may be around 23 percent higher than reported, and the Wallethub report includes both the official rate and an “adjusted” rate based on this error.

To view the full report, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-unemployment-rates/73647/

The WalletHub report includes two columns for the unemployment rate, one with the officially reported unemployment rate and one with the “adjusted” rate after accounting for the misclassification.