KEY QUOTE: “Kansas and the U.S. have maintained relatively low unemployment rates so far in 2022, with Kansas remaining at 2.4% and the U.S. reaching 3.5% in July,” said Amber Shultz, secretary of the state Department of Labor.

Kansas unemployment rate holds steady at 2.4% in July, economy adds private sector jobs

- The unemployment rate in Kansas remained at 2.4% in July with growth of 4,000 private-sector jobs and a decline of 500 in the government workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Kansas Department of Labor said a pair of monthly surveys — one of employers and the other of households — indicated Kansas’ jobless rate stood at 2.4% in July and June.

- Emilie Doerksen, a state labor department economist, said the Kansas manufacturing industry expanded by 1,500 jobs. The growth also reflected 1,000 hires in the trade, transportation and utility sector, she said.

- Since July 2021, nonfarm employment has risen by 13,500 in Kansas. It represented 16,700 additional private-sector jobs and a reduction of 3,200 government employees.

- The federal labor bureau reported July jobless figures of Kansas’ four border states, compared to June: Nebraska, 2% in July, up from 1.9% in June; Missouri, 2.5%, down from 2.8%; Oklahoma, 3%, up from 2.9%; and Colorado, 3.3%, down from 3.4%.