The latest unemployment numbers for Manhattan and the surrounding counties have been released, and in general, they continue to improve.
For the Manhattan metro area, which includes the city as well as Geary, Pottawatomie, and Riley counties, the unemployment rate for October was 4.6 percent, which is exactly the same as it was for September of this year. It is, however, down from where it was in October of 2011 when it was 5.3 percent.
For the city of Manhattan itself, the unemployment rate for October was 3.8 percent, the same as it was last month, and down from 4.4 percent this time last year.
For the surrounding counties, Clay county reports a 4.0 percent rate for October, which is up slightly from September when it was at 3.9 percent, but down from October of last year when it was at 4.4 percent.
Geary County reports a relativly high rate of 6.5 percent, which is the same as it was in September, but down from October 2001 when it was at 7.9 percent.
Pottawatomie County’s rates remained pretty steady, with a rate of 4.0 percent for October, down from 4.3 percent in September and 4.7 percent in October 2011.
Finally, Riley County reports a rate of 3.9 percent, the same as it was in September of this year, and down from 4.5 percent in October of 2011.
