TOPEKA-The unemployment rate in Saline County dropped slightly to 3.2 percent in March from 3.3 percent in February, according to the Kansas Department of Labor.

Jobless rates were also steady across central Kansas.

Unemployment numbers were down in Dickinson County 4.0 to 3.9 percent. The rate was unchanged McPherson County at 2.6 percent. Ottawa County saw a slight increase from 2.8 in February to 3.0 last month.

Preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in March. This was unchanged from February and down from 3.7 percent in March 2017.

“Kansas employers added jobs in March,” said Secretary Lana Gordon. “This is the tenth consecutive month of job growth, which is good news for Kansas.”

Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 2,100 from February. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 2,200 from the previous month.

“The survey of Kansas employers this month reported an increase in three key areas. These are the number of jobs, the number of average weekly hours worked, and real hourly earnings compared to one year ago,” said Senior Labor Economist, Tyler Tenbrink. “This indicates employers are demonstrating a stronger demand for labor compared to last year at this time.”

Since March 2017, Kansas gained 10,700 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 9,400 private sector jobs.