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%.
Reno County had the highest unemployment rate in central Kansas at 4.7%, Kingman County the lowest at 3.1%. McPherson County came in at 3.4%, Harvey and Rice counties at 4.1%, Marion, Stafford and Pratt counties at 4%, Saline County at 3.8%, Barton County at 4.2%, Ellsworth County at 3.6% and Sedgwick County at 4.5%.
