Emporia Area Unemployment Rate 4.6 Percent in September

EMPORIA, Kan. — The Emporia area's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in September 2025, marking an increase from 3.2 percent during the same month last year, according to data released by the Kansas Department of Labor. The September rate affects 860 people out of work in the Emporia micropolitan area, which includes Lyon and Chase counties. Lyon County alone reported 817 unemployed residents out of a labor force of 17,731 workers, while the city of Emporia saw 659 people without jobs among its workforce of 13,458, pushing the city's unemployment rate to 4.9 percent.

The local jobless rates exceed both state and national benchmarks. Kansas recorded a 3.6 percent unemployment rate for September, while the seasonally adjusted state figure stood at 3.8 percent. The Emporia area's 4.6 percent rate also surpasses most other Kansas communities, with only a handful of counties reporting higher unemployment. The September figures represent an decrease from August 2025, when the Emporia micro-area unemployment rate stood at 5.6 percent. Compared to September 2024, when just 3.3 percent of area workers were jobless, the current numbers reflect more than 500 additional people seeking employment in the region.

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.

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