Kansas Department of Labor

The Kansas labor market added a little more than 19,000 jobs, or 1.4 percent, over the past 12 months, the largest annual rate of growth the state has seen in three years, the Kansas Department of Labor reported Friday.

That included an increase of about 17,800 private-sector jobs, a 1.6 percent increase compared to April 2017.

But the total number of people employed in those jobs — including those who work two or more jobs — was actually down by more than 2,500 over the past year, and the size of the state’s labor force shrank by more than 3,500 individuals.

While those decreases represent only slight changes in a labor force of nearly 1.5 million Kansans, economists have warned that the lack of overall growth in the state’s labor force and population in recent years endanger the prospects for long-term growth in the state’s economy.

Over the same 12-month period, the total number of people employed in the United States grew 1.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state’s unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in April, unchanged from the month before but down two-tenths of a point from April 2017.

Total employment in the Lawrence area grew by about 0.2 percent over the past 12 months. The local unemployment rate was 2.9 percent, down one-tenth of a point from April 2017.

The Topeka metropolitan area showed little growth in employment. Its unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in April, down three-tenths of a point from the same time last year.

The Wichita area reported a 3.6 percent unemployment rate, the highest of all the metropolitan areas in Kansas. Still that was down from the 3.9 percent rate reported in March and April 2017.

Total employment on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area grew about 1.3 percent over the past year. Its jobless rate was 3.1 percent in April, down three-tenths of a point from March, but only one-tenth of a point lower than a year ago.

The Manhattan area continued to have the lowest jobless rate among Kansas metropolitan areas. It was reported at 2.7 percent in April, down one-tenth of a point from March, and two-tenths of a point lower than April 2017.