TOPEKA — According to preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 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.
In Kansas, the KDOL reported, of a total workforce of 1,477,230, 49,846 were out of work.
“Current trends in the Kansas labor market are strong,” secretary Lana Gordon said. “Job growth has exceeded the national average and the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is the lowest in ten years.”
In Barton County, the rate was 3.3 percent last month, with 469 jobless out of a labor force of 13,900. This compares to 2.9 percent in May and 4.2 percent in June 2017.
Since June 2017, Kansas gained 24,800 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 22,200 private sector jobs.
In June the labor force increased by 1,678, the pool of unemployed decreased by 111 and employment increased by 1,789. Estimates are seasonally adjusted.
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,” labor economist Emilie Doerksen said. “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.
The BLS revised seasonally adjusted preliminary total nonfarm jobs estimates for May upward by 3,100 jobs, from 1,419,700 to 1,422,800. Seasonally adjusted private sector jobs were revised upward by 3,100 jobs, from 1,162,000 to 1,165,100.
The National unemployment rate rose to 4 percent in June 2018 from 3.8 percent in the previous month, which was the lowest since April 2000 and above market expectations of 3.8 percent. The number of unemployed persons increased by 499,000 to 6.6 million. Unemployment Rate in the United States averaged 5.78 percent from 1948 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953.