Topeka ? Wages for workers in Kansas continued to rise last year, but the state lost jobs for the first time in more than a decade, according to the 2003 Kansas Wage Survey.

The average worker in Kansas made $30,824 last year, an increase of 2.3 percent over 2001. While wages were up, state Human Resources Secretary Jim Garner said the rise was a smaller annual increase than those of the 1990s.

The survey found the state lost 14,300 jobs, or 1.1 percent of its work force, last year, with most of the job losses in the manufacturing sector. Kansas lost 13,400 manufacturing jobs, a 6.9 percent decline. Sedgwick County, which has struggled with airline industry layoffs, reported a loss of 7,700 manufacturing jobs.

Retail trade employment also was down, but the state gained jobs in the health care, finance and insurance, and public administration categories.

The report is compiled from a survey of 3,500 Kansas employers, which employ about one-sixth of the state’s employees.

Family doctors and general practitioners have the state’s highest median wage at $65.85 per hour, followed by pediatricians, chief executives and optometrists, Garner said. The lowest recorded median wage in the state is for dancers at $6.28 per hour, with the next highest wages going to theater ushers and ticket takers, and waiters and waitresses.

Garner said employers, job seekers, economic development representatives and school counselors used the survey to gauge the wage situation.

“This publication would allow a person considering an in-state move to see the potential salary ranges for their occupations,” Garner said. “Also, this tool is beneficial to companies looking to build in a particular area because it can help determine competitive salaries for future workers and strategies for employee recruitment.”