More people are working in Kansas than ever before.
That’s according to data provided by the Kansas Department of Labor this week, which showed more stability in the Kansas job market. Nine of the top 10 employment months took place throughout the year, with unemployment at or below 5% for the past 38 consecutive months.
Governor Laura Kelly took time Wednesday to tout those numbers, ahead of next week’s legislative session.
“Hard-working Kansans have been the force behind our strong economic growth as a state. Now, we must continue to recruit more people to move here and more Kansans to join the workforce in order to keep up with the great job opportunities being created across the state,” she said.
The state’s November unemployment rate was 2.9 percent, unchanged from the month before and mirrored that of November 2022. The national unemployment rate ws 3.7% in November. Nineteen states including Kansas, had unemployment below that national average.
The Kansas labor force includes more than 1.5 million Kansans, with about 1.4 million participating in the workforce.