Preliminary estimates indicate the unemployment rate in Kansas ticked up in October, reported the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday. The findings show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.9% in October, an increase from 2.8% in September and a decrease from 3.0% in October 2022.

Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 3,200 from September. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs increased by 2,400 over the month, while government increased by 800.

In Barton County, out of a civilian workforce of 12,704,  12,317 were working and 387 were unemployed. That comes to a jobless rate of 3.0, up from 2.7 in September and 2.7 in October 2022.

“There was a small increase in the unemployment rate for Kansas, edging up to 2.9% in October,” said Emilie Doerksen, labor economist. “However, there was no change in the labor force participation rate at 66.7%, which remains significantly higher than the U.S. labor force participation rate at 62.7%.” 

Since October 2022 Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 15,600. This change is due to an increase of 8,300 private sector jobs and an increase of 7,300 government jobs.

The national unemployment rate, 3.9 percent, changed little both over the month and over the year, the BLS reported Friday.

Unemployment rates were higher in October in 26 states and stable in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty-one states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, 12 states and the District had increases, and 17 states had little change.

The Kansas unemployment rate is based on data collected through the Current Population Survey (CPS) and estimates produced by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. The LAUS data is produced in cooperation with the BLS, which means that the same methodology is used for all states (bls.gov/lau/laumthd.htm). Data for the number of individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits is based on administrative data from claimants filing unemployment insurance claims with KDOL. These two measures offer distinct but related measures of trends in joblessness.

The November 2023 Labor Report will be released Friday, Dec. 22.