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%.
Around the Golden Belt Pawnee County’s August unemployment was at 3.9% while Barton County was at 4.1%t, Stafford and Pratt counties were at 4%, Rice and Rush counties at 4.1%, Edwards County at 3.7%, Reno County at 4.7%, and Kiowa County at 3.5%.
Ellis County at 3.4% and Ford County at 3.3% were among 18 counties with unemployment rates of 3.5% or lower, with the highest jobless rate at 6.2%in Bourbon County in southeast Kansas.
