Kansas Department of Labor
The Ellis County unemployment numbers for September dropped almost a half a point from August from 3.4% to 3%.
Ellis County's jobless rate is almost a point below the state average.
The release of the unemployment data was delayed because of the federal government shutdown.
Graham and Lane Counties had jobless rates of 4.1%, but the rest of the northwest Kansas counties all have unemployment rates below 4%.
Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.8% statewide in September.
This is unchanged from 3.8% in August and unchanged from 3.8% in September 2024. The labor force participation rate for Kansas increased to 67.1% in September.
Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 300 from August. Total nonfarm includes private sector and government employers. Private sector jobs decreased by 2,000 over the month, while government increased by 1,700. The largest job gains in the private sector were in financial activities (+600 jobs). The largest decrease was in professional and business services (-2,300 jobs).
Since September 2024, Kansas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have decreased by 1,700. This change is due to a decrease of 2,500 private sector jobs and an increase of 800 government jobs.
Technical Note: This release includes nonfarm jobs and labor force estimates for September 2025, which are produced using data from two monthly surveys. Data for nonfarm job estimates is collected through a survey of employers, while the main input for labor force estimates is a survey of households. Data collected for this report references the week including Sept. 12.