TOPEKA – Statewide, as well as locally, November unemployment numbers saw little movement over last month. In fact there has been little change over a year ago November, according to early estimates reported Friday by the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The  preliminary numbers show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.8% in November. This was unchanged from 2.8% in October and unchanged from 2.8% in November 2021.

In Barton County, the jobless rate stood at 2.6% last month, which was just a tick over 2.5% in October, as well as a shade over the 2.4% in November 2021. Out of a civilian workforce of 13,233 in November, 12,892 were employed and 341 were not.

“There was little change in the labor force this month, resulting in the unemployment rate remaining at 2.8%,” said Secretary Amber Shultz. “This is also unchanged from last November.”  

Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 400 from October. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs decreased by 1,000 over the month, while government increased by 600.

“Total nonfarm job estimates for Kansas indicate a small decline over the month in November,” said Labor Economist Emilie Doerksen. “However, due to strong growth in October and gains earlier this year, current estimates are 2.7% higher than last November.”

Since November 2021, Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 36,700. This change is due to an increase of 34,600 private sector jobs and an increase of 2,100 government jobs.

The same held true nationwide as the national unemployment rate, 3.7 percent, was unchanged over the month but was 0.5 percentage point lower than in November 2021, the BLS reported Friday. Unemployment rates were higher in November in 12 states, lower in three states and the District of Columbia, and stable in 35 states.

Thirty-six states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, three states had increases, and 11 states had little change.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in eight states and was essentially unchanged in 42 states and the District of Columbia in November 2022. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 44 states and was essentially unchanged in six states and the District.

Arriving at the data

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. 

Data for the number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits is based on administrative data from claimants filing unemployment insurance claims  with the KDOL. These two measures offer distinct but related measures of trends in joblessness.

This release includes nonfarm jobs and labor force estimates for November 2022, which are produced using data from two monthly surveys. Data for nonfarm job estimates is collected through a survey of employers while the main input for labor force estimates is a survey of households. Data collected for this report references the week including Nov. 12.

The December 2022 Labor Report will be released on Friday, Jan. 20.