Unemployment numbers for September have been released, with the city of Manhattan showing a 4.4 percent rate. That’s down from August’s 4.9 percent rate and last year’s 4.8 percent. Manhattan’s was the second lowest one of 16 listed in the Kansas Department of Labor numbers. Only Leawood was lower, with a 4.3 percent figure.
The Manhattan metropolitan area also fared well, with 5.4 percent, compared to six percent the month before and 5.6 last year. The metro area includes Riley, Pottawatomie, and Geary counties. That was the lowest in terms of metro-areas, with Lawrence/Douglas county the closest, having a 5.9 percent number. Several so-called micro areas, though, such as Dodge City, Garden City, and Great Bend, had lower rates.
Riley County had a 4.6 percent rate, also down–Pottawatomie County was 5.1, down from 5.6 percent last month but the same as last year, Clay county had a rate of 4.6 percent, which was actually up a bit from last year at the same time, and Geary county’s rate of 7.8 percent was down from the month before and prior year.
