For the second month in a row, Logan County wound up with the lowest unemployment rate in the 10-county Barren River Area Development District, according to the most recent statistics released by the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

In August, Logan County’s jobless rate was just 7.3 percent - the same it was one moth earlier when it was lower than Warren County for the first time in months.

Warren County’s unemployment was 7.4 percent in August. Monroe County (7.6 percent) and Hart County (7.8 percent) were also both under 8 percent for the month. The average for the entire BRADD was 7.9 percent. The statewide average was 8.4 percent - a full point higher than in Logan County.

Logan County also had a lower jobless rate than all its neighboring Kentucky counties. Simpson County was at 8.7 percent, Butler County was at 8.7 percent, Todd County was 8.4 percent and Muhlenberg County was 9.1 percent.

Over the past year, unemployment fell 1.3 points in Logan County. In August of 2011, the rate was 8.6 percent.

That was the trend for much of the state as unemployment rates fell in 98 Kentucky counties between August 2011 and August 2012, while 20 county rates increased and two stayed the same.

Oldham County recorded the lowest jobless rate in the Commonwealth at 6.5 percent. It was followed by Franklin, Scott and Union counties, 6.6 percent each; Fayette County, 6.7 percent; Boone and Jessamine counties, 6.8 percent each; Madison County, 6.9 percent; and Hancock, Ohio and Shelby counties, 7 percent each.

Fulton County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate — 16.7 percent. It was followed by Magoffin County, 16.6 percent; Harlan and Leslie counties, 14.3 percent each; Letcher County, 14 percent; Bell and McCreary counties, 13.8 percent each; Jackson County, 13.7 percent; Knott County, 13.2 percent; and Wolfe County, 13.1 percent.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working. Civilian labor force statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks. The statistics in this news release are not seasonally adjusted to allow for comparisons between United States, state and county figures.