The Kansas Department of Labor has released the January Labor report, delayed from its usual release time due to last fall’s federal shutdown. Statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment for January came in at 3.8 percent, up a tenth of a point from December and from January 2025.
Total non-farm payroll in Kansas increased by 1,100 of that in the government sector. Largest job gains for the month were in professional and business services and the largest declines were in construction and financial activities.
Over the past year seasonally adjusted job numbers are up by 6,900, 5,200 in the private sector and 1,700 in government jobs.
In the Golden belt, unemployment ranged from a high of 4.8 percent in Barton County to a low of 3.2 percent in Ellis and Ford counties. Pawnee, Hodgeman and Rush counties came in at 3.4 percent, Edwards and Kiowa County at 3.6 percent, Pratt County at 3.7 percent, Russell and Stafford Counties at 3.8 percent, Rice County at 3.9 percent and Reno County at 4.3 percent.
