Kansas job growth remains flat in February

Topeka ? The Kansas economy continued to grapple with a tight labor market in February as employers added only 200 new private-sector jobs, the Kansas Department of Labor reported Friday.

While total nonfarm jobs, including public-sector jobs, grew by 500 during the month, 683 fewer people were in the workforce compared with January. That helped lower the overall unemployment rate one-tenth of a point, to 3.4 percent.

“Kansas is experiencing a tight labor market with low unemployment and increased demand for labor as reflected in recent gains in jobs, hours, and real earnings,” labor market information director Justin McFarland said in a news release.

Job growth in Kansas lagged behind the U.S. economy, which produced 313,000 new jobs in February, the largest single-month increase since July 2016.

The service sector, including information and financial services, added 900 new jobs in February. But those gains were offset by losses in the construction industry and other sectors.

Over the year, Kansas added 7,700 new nonfarm jobs compared with February 2017, including 6,000 private-sector jobs, an overall growth rate of 0.5 percent.

Employment in the Lawrence metropolitan area grew by an estimated 2,187 jobs. But the number of people counted in the labor force grew by even more, 2,432 workers, causing the local unemployment rate to jump three-tenths of a point, to 3.3 percent.

A similar trend occurred in the Manhattan area, which added roughly 4,000 new workers and new jobs during the month. That area’s jobless rate held steady at 2.9 percent.

The Topeka metropolitan area experienced the same trend, with smaller increases in employment and the size of its labor force, causing its jobless rate to grow one-tenth of a point, to 3.8 percent.

The Wichita area saw small declines in both jobs and its labor force, causing its jobless rate to climb three-tenths of a point, to 4.1 percent.

The same held true on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, but that area’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 percent.