Kansas Unemployment Holds Steady at 3.8% While National Rate Climbs

TOPEKA — Kansas maintained a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.8% in September, remaining unchanged from the previous month and matching the rate from a year earlier, according to data released by the Kansas Department of Labor. The state's jobless rate came in below the national unemployment rate of 4.4%, which marked the highest national level since October 2021.

The national rate increased from 4.3% in August and was up from 4.1% in September 2024, with the number of unemployed Americans rising to 7.6 million U.S.. Kansas had 1.56 million workers in its civilian labor force in September, with approximately 59,900 unemployed. Among Kansas local-area estimates, the McPherson micropolitan area reported a 2.8% unemployment rate in September, while Wyandotte County registered 4.5%; several smaller counties posted higher rates statewide, including Chautauqua County in SE Kansas at 5.1%.      

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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