State continues to lose jobs, down nearly 10,000 from 2015

The number of jobs in Kansas continued to dip in December, down slightly from November and down 9,300 from December 2015.

The state saw its biggest drop in construction and oil-and-gas-related jobs, with smaller drops in manufacturing, restaurant and hotel jobs.

The state’s farm and oil-and-gas sectors were in recession during 2016, while many of the state’s manufacturers were also hurting because their customers were in troubled industries and because of unfavorable export conditions.

Unlike the state, however, the Wichita area is seeing some mild strength. The number of jobs in December was up about 800 from November and 2,700 from December 2015.

The local unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent in November.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:46 AM with the headline "State continues to lose jobs, down nearly 10,000 from 2015."