Kansas Department of Labor
Area unemployment rates in northwest Kansas were up slightly again in August.
Russell County's jobless rate jumped to 5.9% from 3.9% in July, Osborne County's rate was up to 5.1% in August up from 3.7% in July.
Ellis County's unemployment dropped slightly from 3.2% in July to 3% in August. Trego County's jobless rate dropped slightly from 4.3% in July to 3.8% in August.
Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.3% in August for the state. This is an increase from 3.2% in July and an increase from 2.6% in August 2023.
Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged from July. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs decreased by 3,500 over the month, while government increased by 3,500.
Since August 2023 Kansas' seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 20,000. This change is due to an increase of 18,500 private sector jobs and an increase of 1,500 government jobs.
Technical Note: This release includes nonfarm jobs and labor force estimates for August 2024, which are produced using data from two monthly surveys. Data for nonfarm job estimates is collected through a survey of employers while the main input for labor force estimates is a survey of households. Data collected for this report references the week including Aug. 12.