Kansas unemployment rate stays mostly the same

The state’s unemployment rate edged slightly lower in February, according to preliminary estimates Friday by the Kansas Department of Labor.

The labor department said the February 2017 rate was 4 percent, compared with 4.1 percent in January and February 2016.

Total Kansas non-farm jobs, seasonally adjusted, increased by 4,200 from January 2017, and within that category, private sector jobs increased by 5,500, the department said.

In the past 12 months, the department said, the state lost 400 seasonally adjusted total non-farm jobs but gained 1,300 private sector jobs in the same period.

“Preliminary estimates for February show a notable increase in private sector jobs compared to last month,” Tyler Tenbrink, the department’s senior labor economist, said in a news release. “The health care and construction industries each added more jobs than expected. However, when compared to this time last year, total non-farm employment changed little.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 9:50 AM with the headline "Kansas unemployment rate stays mostly the same."