Despite job losses this year at major employers such as Sprint PCS and Davol Inc., Lawrence ranks second among the nation’s metropolitan areas by job growth, according to a new analysis.

The number of Lawrence residents employed increased by 3 percent, to 57,681 in September from 56,004 in January, according to a New York Times analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That percentage ranked Lawrence second only to Fayetteville, Ark., which saw employment increase by 3.1 percent.

“It’s sometimes too easy to focus on the losses but not to focus on the gains,” said Lynn Parman, vice president of economic development at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “Certainly the national recession has affected Lawrence, but it has not been as bad as some areas.”

Bill Layes, chief of labor market information for the Kansas Department of Human Resources, said the presence of Kansas University had helped to insulate Lawrence from the national recession.

“Lawrence certainly is growing more rapidly than the state as a whole,” he said. “The university provides stability and reliable employment, and as a result there’s an aggressive retail area in Lawrence and also a strong service sector.”

The biggest boost to Lawrence employment numbers this year has been from the service sector. Since January, the sector has added 800 jobs, increasing to 13,900 people. The retail industry held steady, while Topeka has lost 500 retail workers and the state’s overall retail work force has lost about 3,000 workers.

Area professionals who help people find work were surprised by the ranking. Cheryl White, a manager at the Lawrence Workforce Center, said the market remained a challenge for most job-hunters.

“I’d say it’s still pretty tough,” White said. “We’re just not seeing a lot of opportunities right now.”

Robert Washatka, a co-owner of Lawrence’s Express Personnel Services, said businesses his firm deals with were beginning to hire temporary workers but were still in a holding pattern when it came to permanent hires.

He said Lawrence’s population growth might be a reason for the ranking. The survey measured people who live and work in Lawrence, along with those who live in Lawrence but work elsewhere.

State figures indicate the number of jobs in Douglas County has grown at a rate slightly less than 2.5 percent in the January-September period analyzed for the study.

Parman predicted the pace of new jobs in the Lawrence area could increase later this year.

She said her department noticed a surge in interest from companies that were considering Lawrence as a business site.

She declined to release the names of any firms but said she’d played host to six companies interested in the community during the third quarter of the year. She said 11 existing firms also had expressed an interest in expansion.

“The fact that we have so many projects in the pipeline is a good indication that the economy is picking back up,” Parman said. “The fourth quarter of 2002 and the first quarter of 2003 could result in some significant job gains.”