Arkansas City Area Unemployment Drops to 3.9 Percent in September
Jobless rate falls nearly a full percentage point from August as regional economy shows improvement
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — The unemployment rate in the Arkansas City-Winfield area fell to 3.9 percent in September, down from 4.7 percent in August, according to data released by the Kansas Department of Labor.
The region, which covers Cowley County, had 15,901 people in its workforce last month, with 15,283 employed and 618 unemployed. The improvement marks a slight drop from September 2024, when the jobless rate was 4.1 percent. The area's unemployment rate matches the broader Wichita-Arkansas City-Winfield region, which also reported a 3.8 percent rate. Both figures are slightly higher than the statewide unemployment rate of 3.6 percent.
Nearby Sumner County showed even better numbers with a 3.6 percent unemployment rate in September, down from 4.6 percent the previous month. The county had 10,972 workers, with 10,572 employed. The broader five-county Wichita region, which includes both Cowley and Sumner counties along with Butler, Harvey and Sedgwick counties, had 359,373 people in its labor force, with 345,563 employed. Kansas overall does not have a national unemployment rate comparison in the data, but the state's seasonally adjusted rate of 3.8 percent suggests the local economy is performing close to state benchmarks.
Due to the lapse in federal funding during the federal government shutdown, all Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) operations were suspended from Oct. 1, 2025, through Nov. 12, 2025. As a result, KDOL will not publish a separate report for the October 2025 Kansas Labor Report. Establishment survey data from the Current Employment Statistics program for October 2025 will be published with the November 2025 data. Household survey data from the Current Population Survey, which serve as the primary input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, were not collected for the October 2025 reference period due to a lapse in appropriations and will not be collected retroactively.
The November 2025 Kansas Labor Report will be released January 7, 2026. The release schedule for December 2025 has not yet been finalized. We will communicate the date when it becomes available.
Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: