Topeka ? The Kansas economy lost an estimated 4,100 nonfarm jobs in November, mainly because of slower than expected seasonal hiring in the retail industry, but the state’s unemployment rate still dropped a tenth of a point to a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent, according to the Kansas Department of Labor’s monthly jobs report.

That was still well below the 5 percent unemployment rate in Kansas in November 2013. It’s also below the national jobless rate of 5.8 percent. But the nation’s economy saw strong job growth in November when it added an estimated 321,000 new jobs.

“After a strong October, seasonal hiring in retail trade was slightly slower than expected in November, leading to a seasonally adjusted over the month dip in private sector jobs,” said Tyler Tenbrink, the state labor agency’s senior economist. “However, other indicators did improve over the month including increasing hours and earnings, signifying continued demand for labor.”

In a separate wage and hours report, the department said average weekly hours worked in private-sector industries in Kansas rose to 35.1 in November, up 2 percent in November compared with the year before. Average weekly earnings rose nearly 7 percent, to $791.51.

In the Lawrence metropolitan area, unemployment rose three-tenths of a point over the month, to a nonseasonally adjusted 3.5 percent as employment fell by 687 jobs. That was the lowest jobless rate of any of the metropolitan statistical areas in Kansas.

The Wichita area posted the highest unemployment rate in November, 4.8 percent, up two-tenths of a point from October but still below the area’s 5.2 percent jobless rate a year ago.

On the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, the jobless rate rose two-tenths of a point to 4.1 percent. That area includes Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte counties.

The monthly employment numbers are based on surveys of establishments and are often revised at the end of the quarter when the actual census of jobs is released. The unemployment numbers are based on a separate survey of households.

The statewide numbers are also seasonally adjusted to smooth out the effects of normal fluctuations in the job market such as when construction jobs slow down in the winter and school-related jobs fall off in the summer.