Covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County

Covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County was 16,522 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 0.2% from 2024. That is the 24th highest of 120 counties in 2025.

2025, jobs16,522
Change on 2024-0.2%
Series high16,9992018
Series low12,6282011

Next release: Saturday, 21 August 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County, 2001 to 2025

12K13K14K15K16K17K20012005200920132017202120252001: 13,555 jobs2002: 13,822 jobs2003: 13,886 jobs2004: 14,316 jobs2005: 14,202 jobs2006: 13,936 jobs2007: 13,925 jobs2008: 13,649 jobs2009: 12,756 jobs2010: 12,706 jobs2011: 12,628 jobs2012: 13,569 jobs2013: 14,620 jobs2014: 15,015 jobs2015: 15,707 jobs2016: 16,285 jobs2017: 16,803 jobs2018: 16,999 jobs2019: 16,428 jobs2020: 15,262 jobs2021: 15,595 jobs2022: 16,123 jobs2023: 16,156 jobs2024: 16,556 jobs2025: 16,522 jobs12K14K16K18K2001201020252001: 13,555 jobs2002: 13,822 jobs2003: 13,886 jobs2004: 14,316 jobs2005: 14,202 jobs2006: 13,936 jobs2007: 13,925 jobs2008: 13,649 jobs2009: 12,756 jobs2010: 12,706 jobs2011: 12,628 jobs2012: 13,569 jobs2013: 14,620 jobs2014: 15,015 jobs2015: 15,707 jobs2016: 16,285 jobs2017: 16,803 jobs2018: 16,999 jobs2019: 16,428 jobs2020: 15,262 jobs2021: 15,595 jobs2022: 16,123 jobs2023: 16,156 jobs2024: 16,556 jobs2025: 16,522 jobs
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-08-21.
All 25 values
Periodjobs
202516,522
202416,556
202316,156
202216,123
202115,595
202015,262
201916,428
201816,999
201716,803
201616,285
201515,707
201415,015
201314,620
201213,569
201112,628
201012,706
200912,756
200813,649
200713,925
200613,936
200514,202
200414,316
200313,886
200213,822
200113,555

Compared with Kentucky and United States

Place2025
Shelby County16,522
Kentucky1,990,460
United States155,732,363

Shelby County compared with nearby places

Adair County: 5,091 jobsAllen County: 5,159 jobsAnderson County: 5,155 jobsBallard County: 1,923 jobsBarren County: 15,651 jobsBath County: 1,937 jobsBell County: 8,318 jobsBoone County: 105,521 jobsBourbon County: 7,068 jobsBoyd County: 26,451 jobsBoyle County: 14,509 jobsBracken County: 1,564 jobsBreathitt County: 2,641 jobsBreckinridge County: 3,769 jobsBullitt County: 29,334 jobsButler County: 2,940 jobsCaldwell County: 4,673 jobsCalloway County: 15,612 jobsCampbell County: 32,037 jobsCarlisle County: 1,054 jobsCarroll County: 7,875 jobsCarter County: 5,573 jobsCasey County: 3,954 jobsChristian County: 31,172 jobsClark County: 13,539 jobsClay County: 4,088 jobsClinton County: 3,635 jobsCrittenden County: 1,917 jobsCumberland County: 2,520 jobsDaviess County: 47,804 jobsEdmonson County: 1,695 jobsElliott County: 898 jobsEstill County: 2,261 jobsFayette County: 206,779 jobsFleming County: 3,209 jobsFloyd County: 11,099 jobsFranklin County: 35,322 jobsFulton County: 2,250 jobsGallatin County: 2,526 jobsGarrard County: 2,688 jobsGrant County: 5,430 jobsGraves County: 11,949 jobsGrayson County: 7,242 jobsGreen County: 1,900 jobsGreenup County: 7,006 jobsHancock County: 3,627 jobsHardin County: 48,702 jobsHarlan County: 6,247 jobsHarrison County: 5,230 jobsHart County: 5,466 jobsHenderson County: 18,611 jobsHenry County: 3,044 jobsHickman County: 913 jobsHopkins County: 17,329 jobsJackson County: 1,770 jobsJefferson County: 480,013 jobsJessamine County: 18,926 jobsJohnson County: 5,322 jobsKenton County: 75,385 jobsKnott County: 2,208 jobsKnox County: 7,528 jobsLarue County: 2,614 jobsLaurel County: 26,104 jobsLawrence County: 3,759 jobsLee County: 1,721 jobsLeslie County: 1,446 jobsLetcher County: 4,130 jobsLewis County: 1,912 jobsLincoln County: 3,987 jobsLivingston County: 3,489 jobsLogan County: 8,764 jobsLyon County: 2,596 jobsMcCracken County: 40,975 jobsMcCreary County: 2,825 jobsMcLean County: 1,716 jobsMadison County: 36,855 jobsMagoffin County: 1,956 jobsMarion County: 8,904 jobsMarshall County: 11,471 jobsMartin County: 1,772 jobsMason County: 7,872 jobsMeade County: 5,372 jobsMenifee County: 950 jobsMercer County: 6,416 jobsMetcalfe County: 2,087 jobsMonroe County: 3,247 jobsMontgomery County: 10,114 jobsMorgan County: 3,181 jobsMuhlenberg County: 7,845 jobsNelson County: 18,432 jobsNicholas County: 962 jobsOhio County: 7,304 jobsOldham County: 16,995 jobsOwen County: 1,592 jobsOwsley County: 704 jobsPendleton County: 2,224 jobsPerry County: 11,306 jobsPike County: 20,166 jobsPowell County: 3,003 jobsPulaski County: 26,767 jobsRobertson County: 317 jobsRockcastle County: 3,837 jobsRowan County: 10,626 jobsRussell County: 6,049 jobsScott County: 31,432 jobsShelby County: 16,522 jobsSimpson County: 9,304 jobsSpencer County: 2,284 jobsTaylor County: 11,564 jobsTodd County: 2,941 jobsTrigg County: 2,955 jobsTrimble County: 1,022 jobsUnion County: 5,284 jobsWarren County: 71,839 jobsWashington County: 3,569 jobsWayne County: 5,080 jobsWebster County: 2,855 jobsWhitley County: 14,880 jobsWolfe County: 1,594 jobsWoodford County: 9,931 jobs
  • Under 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 18K
  • 18K and over
Covered employment (QCEW), 2025, jobs. Shelby County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

Definition

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_covered_employment_qcew_shelby_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), Shelby County, 2001 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/shelby-county-kentucky.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

What is the covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County?

Covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County was 16,522 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 0.2% from 2024. That is the 24th highest of 120 counties in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest covered employment (QCEW) in Shelby County?

16,999 jobs in 2018, the highest value since 2001 in this series.

Related statistics for Shelby County

All statistics for Shelby County | Shelby County in figures