TOPEKA — The Kansas unemployment rate dropped slightly in September. The state jobless rate fell to 3.8 percent in September from the August rate of 3.9 percent. The jobless rate for Franklin County and neighboring counties dropped more sharply in September. “Kansas maintained a healthy labor market in September with the unemployment rate falling to 3.8 percent and employers adding a significant number of private sector jobs.” said Lana Gordon, Kansas secretary of labor. Seasonally-adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas non-farm jobs increased by 5,000 from August. However, that’s not enough to reverse several months of job losses, according to Tyler Tenbrink, labor economist. “Kansas City and Wichita gained a significant number of jobs over the month, and Kansas posted an overall significant gain in private sector jobs from August to September by adding 5,500 jobs statewide,” he said. “While this represents a notable improvement from the pace of job growth experienced so far this year, approximately 5,000 additional jobs will be needed to get back to positive growth over the year.” Franklin county’s jobless rate dropped to 3.3 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August. Miami County’s rate dropped to 3.5 percent from 4.1. Anderson County dropped to 3.4 from 4.1. Osage County fell to 3.5 from 4.3. Douglas County dropped to 2.9 from 3.7. Linn County fell to 5.6 from 6.5. Johnson county dropped to 2.5 from 3.
Thursday, Oct. 26, 5 p.m.
