Topeka — The Kansas job market showed signs of gaining strength in May as the state added nearly 2,000 jobs and the number of people counted as unemployed fell to its lowest level in 18 years.

The Kansas Department of Labor said preliminary, seasonally adjusted figures showed the state adding 1,900 jobs during the month, including 1,800 private-sector jobs.

The number of people counted as unemployed and looking for work fell just below 50,000, the lowest number recorded since May 2000. The monthly unemployment rate was unchanged over the month, at 3.4 percent.

“Preliminary estimates for May are encouraging. Job growth over the year matched the U.S. growth rate at 1.6 percent,” senior labor economist Tyler Tenbrink said in a news release.

For the month, the biggest gains were in the manufacturing sector, which added 1,300 jobs. The education and health services sector and the leisure and hospitality sector both saw job losses of about 500 each.

Over the last 12 months, the state has added about 22,700 jobs, including 7,100 jobs in the business and professional services industry, where Tenbrink said average wages are more than $27 an hour.

The Lawrence metropolitan area lost 1,447 jobs during the month, but the number of people counted as unemployed also fell slightly as the local unemployment rate held steady at 2.9 percent.

The jobless rate in the Wichita metropolitan area also held steady at 3.6 percent while that region added more than 1,100 jobs during the month.

The Topeka metropolitan area lost about 800 jobs during the month as its unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a point, to 3.3 percent.

The five counties on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area saw almost no change in total employment while that area’s jobless rate rose one-tenth of a point, to 3.2 percent.

The Manhattan area also saw little change in its employment picture, and its unemployment rate held steady at 2.7 percent.