Kansas employment at record levels. Kicking the national average in the teeth.
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Thursday, June 19, 2014, 10:27am CDT
Kansas unemployment rate flat in May, employment hits record level
Emily Behlmann
Wichita Business Journal
The Kansas work force grew by 5,857 people during the month, and of those new additions, 5,459 became employed.
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The Kansas unemployment rate stayed steady in May, but more Kansans entered the work force, leading to a record-high number of employed people in the state.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment was at 4.8 percent, unchanged from April, according to the Kansas Department of Labor’s preliminary May employment report, released Thursday.
But the work force grew by 5,857 people during the month, and of those new additions, 5,459 became employed. That led to a seasonally adjusted 1,427,872 people employed in the state, the highest in state history, the department says.
About 68.3 percent of the state’s civilian population, age 16 and older, was participating in the labor force as of last month, department data show.
In terms of jobs, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the state lost 100 nonfarm jobs between April and May, and it added 15,700 nonfarm jobs year-over-year. Without adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, nonfarm jobs were up 11,900 year-over-year and 5,800 month-over-month.
The state says it will release May employment data for specific metro areas on Friday.
