Little change in Kansas jobless figures for May

? There was little change in the Kansas unemployment picture for May.

The May jobless rate was 6.3 percent, which was the same as in April and lower than the 6.8 percent rate in May 2010. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.6 percent, down from 6.7 percent in April and 7.1 percent in May 2010.

“Each month, the economic data indicates that our recovery is tentative but fortunately going in the right direction,” said Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Karin Brownlee. “We are all hopeful that job growth will accelerate in the next few months.”

The unemployment rate in Douglas County was 5.7 percent in May. It was 5.5 percent in April and 6.1 percent in May 2010.

The national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent.

There were 18,708 initial claims for unemployment benefits in May, up from 17,296 initial claims in April and down from 20,200 in May 2010.

There were 235,488 continued claims in May, up from 199,138 in April and down from 264,799 in May 2010.