Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, February 2014.

Wichita ? Kansas economists predict the state will have a higher unemployment rate than the nation beginning in 2018.

The Wichita Eagle reports that in October, Kansas’ unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent, slightly lower than the national average. Kansas Department of Labor economist Tyler Tenbrink says the state’s unemployment rate held steady around 4 percent for most of 2015 but rose during the second half of 2016.

Tenbrink says the state expects the Kansas unemployment rate to rise to about 4.7 percent in 2018 based on current data. He says the Federal Reserve predicts a national unemployment rate of 4.5 percent for that year. He says the Federal Reserve and the state use different methodologies to make these predictions.

Kansas has historically had a lower unemployment rate than the nation.