TOPEKA – The labor force in Kansas swelled in November, forcing down the state’s November seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 4.0 percent,a decline from 4.1 percent in October and decreased from 4.2 percent in November 2014, the Kansas Department of Labor reported this week.

The sunflower state fared better than the nation as a whole. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national jobless was unchanged from October to November at 5.0 percent.

Seasonally adjusted figures show Kansas gained 10,000 private sector jobs since last year, or 0.9 percent. Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 7,000, or 0.5 percent, since November 2014. Since last month, Kansas lost 2,800 seasonally adjusted private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent. The state lost 2,600 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs since October 2015, or 0.2 percent.

In Barton County, the rate was lower than the state average at 3.7 percent. That is down from 3.9 in October and up from 2.9 in November 2014.

“More than 10,000 people returned to the labor force in November, resulting in a record number of employed people in the state,” said Kansas Secretary of Labor, Lana Gordon. “The unemployment rate fell to 4.0 percent, the lowest level in more than 14 years.”

Non-seasonally adjusted figures show Kansas gained 9,900 private sector jobs since last year, or 0.9 percent. Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 6,900, a 0.5 percent increase since November 2014. Since October, private sector jobs decreased by 2,000, or 0.2 percent. The state lost 1,100 total nonfarm jobs over the month, or 0.1 percent.

“November typically sees an increase in unemployment claims compared to October. This year, seasonal inclement weather and temporary layoffs continued that trend,” said Emilie Doerksen, Labor Economist, Kansas Department of Labor. “Even with the over the month increase in claims, continued claims remain below pre-recession levels, a sign that Kansans looking for work are able to find it.” 

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 3.5 percent, down from 3.7 percent in October and down from 3.9 percent one year ago.

 There were 13,344 initial claims for unemployment benefits in November 2015, up from 8,652 in October and up from 12,003 in November 2014. There were 63,370 continued claims in November, up from 49,616 the previous month and down from 68,018 in November 2014.

 Data provided is preliminary and subject to monthly revisions and annual benchmarks by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information on procedures for producing Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) estimates is available on the BLS website here. Procedures for producing Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates are available on the BLS website here.

Seasonally adjusted numbers have been revised to exclude yearly seasonal components. Not seasonally adjusted numbers include these seasonal components. The Kansas Department of Labor publishes the not seasonally adjusted labor force and nonfarm employment data. We also publish the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique which eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools and other recurring seasonal events from an economic time series.

The December 2015 Labor Report will be released on Friday, Jan. 22.