Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced encouraging news in job growth and low unemployment in Kansas. The number of total nonfarm jobs in Kansas increased by 7,900 from July, and private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 4,200 from the previous month. Since August 2018, Kansas gained 15,500 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 17,800 private sector jobs.
Positive economic indicators for the month of August include:
• The unemployment rate decreased from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent.
• The labor force increased by a net of 1,491 individuals from July.
• The pool of unemployed decreased by a net of 1,005 individuals.
“This is good news for Kansas,” Governor Kelly said. “My administration is focused on creating quality jobs throughout Kansas. The positive job and wage growth in the past year is a good sign as we continue to recover from the failed Brownback-Colyer tax experiment. We’re continuing to work toward policies that move Kansas forward, by promoting economic growth, seeking sensible tax reforms and implementing strategies that improve our workforce statewide.”
Other positive economic indicators include:
• Average nominal weekly earnings increased by $48.51 (+5.9%) over the past 12 months.
• Private-sector industries gaining the most jobs (seasonally adjusted) over-the-year were:
o Leisure and hospitality gained 7,200 jobs;
o Professional and business services gained 3,700 jobs;
o Manufacturing gained 2,500 jobs;
o Construction gained 1,500 jobs;
“The unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in August for the first time in more than 20 years, and Kansas employers in the private sector added 4,200 jobs. This growth was widespread with four industries contributing at least 1,000 jobs each,” Kansas Secretary of Labor Delía García said.
Complete Kansas labor market information for August is available here.
The September 2019 Labor Report will be released on Friday, October 18.