Highlights

• According to January 2008 estimates, Kansas businesses added 21,900 jobs in the last year, a 1.6% increase. All metropolitan areas and 10 of 11 major industry sectors added jobs during the year.
  
  
• The greatest gains occurred in the professional and business services industry sector, which reported an additional 5,100 jobs over the year. The majority of these new jobs were in the Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
  
  
• The manufacturing industry added 4,000 jobs over the year, the second largest gain. These additional jobs were largely in durable goods manufacturing, including aerospace production.
  
  
• The January unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, up from 4.0 percent last month, but down from last January’s rate of 4.5 percent. Kansas’ unemployment rate continues to remain below the national average, which was 4.9 percent in January.
  
  
• Note: Annually, monthly statistics, including unemployment rates, from the past year are “benchmarked” according to standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor to assure consistency of reporting among the states. Benchmarking of 2007 Kansas figures has been completed and those numbers are being revised throughout this Web site to reflect any changes. Below is a link to a chart showing the revised “benchmarked” numbers for 2007.
  
  
• Note: January 2008 is the last month that any Lawrence Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) data will be included with the monthly labor report. The U.S. Department of Labor budget passed by Congress and signed by the President in late December 2007 reduced federal funding to the states for the Current Employment Statistics program (CES) for fiscal year 2008. To offset these funding reductions the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced they will no longer provide data for the 65 smallest MSAs nationwide.
  
  

Labor Report Data Bank

Overview        PDF

Unemployment in Kansas and MSAs    PDF       Excel      Historical Data

Nonfarm Jobs in Kansas and MSAs    PDF       Excel      Historical Data

Benchmark Chart    PDF

County Unemployment Map    HTML

County Unemployment Rates    PDF       Excel

Quotes

Secretary of Labor Jim Garner
"Kansas continues to experience a strong job market and milder signs of the slowing national economy. Economic indicators, such as online help wanted advertisements, show that the need for workers in Kansas exceeds the national average. Another interesting sign of a strong job market in Kansas is the manufacturing industry sector, which continues to add jobs, especially in durable goods manufacturing."
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