Preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in June. This was unchanged from May and down from 3.6 percent in June 2017.
“Current trends in the Kansas labor market are strong,” said Secretary Lana Gordon. “Job growth has exceeded the national average and the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is the lowest in ten years.”
Jobless rates across northwest Kansas showed an uptick, but the unemployment rate remains extremely low across the region. Ellis County unemployment rose from 2.3 percent in May to 2.7 percent in June, while Russell County saw a 0.7 percent increase to 3.2 percent.
Rooks County had the highest unemployment in the region at 3.3 percent. Click the map above for a county-by-county breakdown.
Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 1,900 from May. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 1,600 from the previous month.
“Private sector job growth in Kansas has accelerated throughout 2018,” said Labor Economist, Emilie Doerksen. “June was the 10th consecutive month of private sector job gains in the state, including consistent growth in professional and business services and recent increases in manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities.”
Since June 2017, Kansas gained 24,800 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 22,200 private sector jobs.