Topeka ? There was little change in the Kansas unemployment picture in October.

The October jobless rate was 6.2 percent, down from 6.6 percent in both September and October 2010. But the seasonally adjusted rate for October was 6.7 percent, which was unchanged from September, and down from 6.9 percent in October 2010.

Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Karin Brownlee said, “Our job growth continues to move in the right direction.”

Inayat Noormohmad, senior labor economist at the agency, said, “Labor markets remain steady in Kansas. Over the past few months, we have seen slow but positive trends in job numbers.”

There were 16,713 initial claims for unemployment benefits in October, down from 17,341 initial claims in September and down from 23,231 in October 2010. There were 209,659 continued claims in October, up from 184,370 in September and down from 219,323 in October 2010.

The unemployment rate for Douglas County in October was 5.4 percent, down from 5.9 percent in September and down from 5.8 percent in October 2010.

The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 9 percent for October.