Wichita unemployment rate at 8 percent in June
The Wichita metropolitan area’s unemployment rate was flat from May to June, holding at 8 percent, according to the Kansas Department of Labor.
The agency on Tuesday said 25,201 people were out of work during June, up from 24,979 the previous month. Both those figures are down from June 2009 when the metro had 9 percent unemployment.
Statewide, the unemployment rate increased from 6.4 percent to 6.5 percent from May to June. That’s still lower than the 7.2 percent unemployment rate that was reported in June 2009.
Of metros in Kansas, Manhattan had the lowest jobless rate at 5.2 percent, followed by Lawrence at 5.8 percent. Topeka had 6.3 percent unemployment and the Kansas City, Kan., area had 6.9 percent unemployment.
The labor department said private sector businesses added 9,900 jobs during June, which it said was stronger-than-average growth.
The department said four of the 11 major industries in the state reported job gains during the past 12 months, including the trade, transportation and utilities industry.
The construction, education and health services, and mining and logging industries also added jobs, the department said.
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