Unemployment was up slightly, a tenth of a percent, in Wyandotte County, according to figures released today by the Kansas Department of Labor.
The unemployment rate for Wyandotte County was 5.2 percent in December, compared to 5.1 percent in November, according to KDOL figures. For the city of Kansas City, Kan., the rate was 5.2 percent in both months. One year ago, unemployment was 5 percent in Wyandotte County and 5.1 percent in Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas City, Kan., currently is listed with the highest unemployment rate of the larger cities in Kansas.
In Wyandotte County, there were 71,880 people listed as employed, while 3,966 were listed as unemployed, according to the KDOL.
Statewide, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, according to KDOL, down from 4.3 percent in November and up from 4 percent one year ago.
Last month, nonfarm jobs statewide in Kansas decreased by 500 from November, according to the KDOL. Kansas private sector jobs decreased by 1,100 in Kansas, the KDOL stated.
During the past year, Kansas lost 9,300 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs, a KDOL spokesman stated, and the state lost 9,400 private sector jobs since December 2015.
“Rounding out the year preliminary estimates show fewer jobs in the state than one year ago,” said Tyler Tenbrink, senior labor economist, Kansas Department of Labor. “Estimates of the size of the labor force improved in December but remain lower than one year ago.”