Preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent in July. This was unchanged from June and down from 4.2 percent in July 2016.
“The Kansas unemployment rate made significant improvements early this calendar year falling to the low level of 3.7 percent.” said Kansas Secretary of Labor, Lana Gordon. “This month, the rate remains at 3.7 percent, the lowest rate since the fall of 2000.”
Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 1,300 from June. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, decreased by 1,200 from the previous month.
“Employers scheduled more hours for existing workers during the month compared to one year ago. This, along with an increase in hourly earnings contributed to a notable gain in average weekly earnings for July,” said Senior Labor Economist, Tyler Tenbrink. “The estimated changes in the number of jobs and the size of the labor force were not significant this month.”
Since July 2016, Kansas lost 10,800 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 12,100 private sector jobs.
Unemployment rates across northwest Kansas remained low, with Rooks County reporting the highest area jobless rate at 4.4 percent. In Ellis County, the unemployment rate was 3 percent. Click on the map above for county-by-county figures.