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State & Local jobless rates see little change
Even with flat growth, state still adds jobs
Kansas jobless rate map

TOPEKA – Preliminary estimates reported Friday show the unemployment rate in Kansas remained virtually unchanged month over month. Numbers from the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.8% in September, an increase from 2.7% in August and a decrease from 2.9% in September 2022.

In Barton County, out of a civilian labor force of 12,620, 12,279 were employed and 341 were jobless for an unemployment rate of 2.7%. This is down from 3.2 in August and near the 2.6 recorded in September 2022.

“The September unemployment rate was 2.8%,” said Secretary Amber Shultz. “This was a decrease from 2.9% a year ago and unchanged from the end of the second quarter.”

Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 4,200 from August. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs increased by 4,000 over the month, while government increased by 200.

“Kansas nonfarm jobs showed little change over the month in September,” said labor economist, Nathan Kessler. “Despite relatively flat growth throughout 2023, Kansas has added 22,200 jobs since September 2022.”

Since September 2022 Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 22,200. This change is due to an increase of 16,000 private sector jobs and an increase of 6,200 government jobs.

Nationally, the unemployment rate, 3.8 percent, was unchanged over the month but was 0.3 percentage point higher than in September 2022, BLS posted Friday. Unemployment rates were higher in September in 16 states and stable in 34 states and the District of Columbia. 

Twenty-four states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, 10 states and the District had increases, and 16 states had little change.

The Kansas unemployment rate is based on data collected through the Current Population Survey (CPS) and estimates produced by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. The LAUS data is produced in cooperation with the BLS, which means that the same methodology is used for all states (bls.gov/lau/laumthd.htm). Data for the number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits is based on administrative data from claimants filing unemployment insurance claims with KDOL. These two measures offer distinct but related measures of trends in joblessness.