The unemployment rate here in Hutchinson dropped slightly in March according to the numbers released from the Kansas Department of Labor.
The rate for the city last month was 5.2%, down from 5.4% in February and certainly lower then March of last year when the rate was 6.5%. In March, there were 1-thousand, 81 local residents looking for work.
As for Reno County, the rate in March was at 4.8%, down from 4.9% in February and 5.9% in March of 2013. Countywide, there were 1-thousand, 597 residents looking for work, but again, most of those were in the city of Hutchinson.
Other surrounding counties and saw changes. Harvey County’s rate dropped to 4.5% last month as did Kingman and McPherson Counties where the rate in both was at 3.7%, in March.
Pratt County’s rate is at 3.3%, Rice County at 3.5% and Stafford is quite a bit higher at 4.5%. That county actually saw a slight increase in March.
The areas most populated county saw a drop from 6.4% in February to 6% in March. That being Sedgwick County.
As we told you earlier, the March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the state was at 4.9 percent, unchanged from February and down from 5.5 percent in March 2013.