Preliminary data from the Kansas Department of Labor indicates the August unemployment rate of 3.8% was unchanged from July and up a tenth of a percentage point from August 2024 as Kansas’ labor force participation increased to 67%.
Total non-farm payroll declined by 4.700 from July to August, with government employment declining by 3,400 and private sector employment up 1,300. with the largest job gains during August in leisure and hospitality and largest losses in trade, transportation, and utilities. The number of non-farm jobs in the state has declined by 10,000, all but 200 of that in the government sector.
Around Kansas the lowest unemployment rate was in Sheridan County of northwest Kansas at 2.9%, with the highest in Bourbon County of southeast Kansas at 6.2%.
Unemployment rates showed wide variation locally, with Linn County just behind Bourbon County at a 6% unemployment rate. On the other extreme was Anderson County at 3.9 percent. Allen County’s August unemployment rate came in at 4.6% with Neosho County at 4.4%. Coffey and Wilson counties at 5.2% and Crawford and Woodson counties at 5.7 percent.
Elsewhere in the Region Cherokee and Labette counties were at 4.7%, Montgomery and Greenwood counties at 4.9%. Elk and Lyon counties at 5.6%, Chautauqua County at 5.1%, and Franklin County at 4.3%
