Topeka Area Unemployment Holds Steady at 3.9% in September
Rate matches Kansas state average but exceeds national trend; job market shows improvement from year ago
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Topeka area's unemployment rate held at 3.9% in September, matching the statewide average but slightly higher than some neighboring regions, according to new data from the Kansas Department of Labor released this week.
Shawnee County, which includes most of the Topeka metro area, reported 3,535 people out of work among a labor force of 91,643 workers. The City of Topeka itself saw a 4.0% unemployment rate, with 2,588 residents looking for work. The broader Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes five surrounding counties, also recorded a 3.8% jobless rate with 4,541 unemployed workers out of a total labor force of 120,631 people.
The local numbers show improvement compared to a year earlier, when unemployment rates were 3.5% for both Shawnee County and the metro area in September 2024. However, Topeka's rates remain above some other Kansas metros — Lawrence reported 3.4% unemployment and Manhattan saw 3.5%. Kansas as a whole posted a 3.6% unemployment rate in September, while the seasonally adjusted state figure was 3.8%. The data reflects ongoing recovery in the local job market, though hiring challenges persist across various sectors in the capital city 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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