Discouraging state jobs trend continues in January

The number of jobs in Kansas in January continued to fall – slowly – down 3,500 on a seasonally-adjusted basis from December and down 2,400 from January 2016.

That’s down less than 1 percent.

While the number of people in Kansas working fell, the number seeking work fell slightly faster, pushing the unemployment rate statewide to 4.1 percent in January from 4.3 percent in December.

In fact, the state’s labor force – the number of people working and the number actively seeking work – in January hit its lowest level since 2007. That may reflect increasing numbers of retirements and people leaving the state.

In the Wichita metro area, the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, a sharp uptick from the 4.3 percent in December. The number of jobs was down 1,600 from December, and down 2,000 from January 2016.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Discouraging state jobs trend continues in January."