TOPEKA, Kan. –The state’s October seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent.
This was unchanged from September and up from 4.0 percent in October 2015.
In north central Kansas, the jobless rate in Saline County inched up, increasing from 3.6.percent in September to 3.7 percent in October.
It also was up slightly in Ellsworth 3.9 to 4.1 percent and Dickinson County 4.1 to 4.3 percent.
Jobless rates fell in McPherson County 3.1 to 3.0 percent and was unchanged in Ottawa County at 3.7 per cent.
The preliminary seasonally adjusted job estimates from the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 900 from September.
Since last month, Kansas private sector jobs increased by 900. The largest private sector over the month job increase was in Manufacturing.
Over the year, Kansas lost 5,300 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs. Kansas lost 5,700 private sector jobs since October 2015.
Kansas not seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs decreased by 5,400, a 0.4 percent decrease since October 2015. Kansas lost 5,700 private sector jobs since last year, or 0.5 percent.
The state gained 10,600 total not seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs over the month. Since
September, private sector jobs increased by 5,100, or 0.4 percent.
“Kansas retailers are off to a fast start with their seasonal hiring this year. The number of retail trade jobs in the state increased by 2,400 in October,” said Tyler Tenbrink, Senior Labor Economist, Kansas Department of Labor. “It remains to be seen if this pace will continue, or if employers are hiring their seasonal workers early this year compared to years past.”
BLS did not revise the seasonally adjusted preliminary total nonfarm job estimates forSeptember. Seasonally adjusted private sector jobs were revised upward by 300 jobs, from 1,139,000 to 1,139,300.
Seasonally adjusted estimates for October show that the state’s labor force increased by 333 to 1,483,372. Of those in the labor force, 1,417,937 Kansans were employed and 65,435 were unemployed. This month’s net change in the labor force was attributable to 98 fewer Kansans counted as employed and 431 more unemployed.
Over the year, the labor force decreased by 20,769 persons, with a decrease of 25,601 in employment and an increase of 4,832 in unemployment.
The labor force participation rate was 66.7 percent, unchanged from September and down from 68.0 percent last October.