Topeka ? Federal statistics show Kansas is seeing slower private-sector job growth than the U.S. as a whole, while unemployment in the state declined in October to 4.4 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Kansas gained 13,900 private-sector jobs in October compared with October 2013. The new total of nearly 1.14 million was 1.24 percent higher.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration has repeatedly heralded such growth, but the U.S. as a whole saw private-sector employment grow 2.24 percent from October 2013 to October 2014.

Kansas reports its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in October bettered the 4.7 percent rate in September and 5.2 percent in October 2013.

The national unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in October, down from 5.9 percent in September and 7.2 percent in October 2013.