TOPEKA, Kan. — The December jobs numbers released today show the rates for both Hutchinson and Reno County increased slightly.
The unemployment rate for Hutchinson now stands at 4.4 percent, up from 4.2 percent in November, while the rate for Reno County is now at 4 percent, up from 3.9 percent in November. There were 1,319 residents in the county looking for work last month, but most of those were in the city of Hutchinson.
Some surrounding counties also saw slight increases while others saw a slight decrease. Harvey County’s rate is at 4.3 percent, a slight decrease. Stafford County also saw a slight decrease with their rate now at 3 percent. Rice County saw no change staying at 2.7 percent. Same for Sedgwick County, but at 4.8 percent.
Here are the counties that saw a slight uptick. Kingman County’s rate is now at 2.7 percent, McPherson County at 4.2 percent and Pratt County at 2.5 percent.
Five counties in the state had rates above 5 percent, including both Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in northeast Kansas. Wyandotte County has the highest rate at 5.9 percent followed by Johnson County at 5.4 percent.
The state’s December seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, unchanged from the November revised unemployment rate and down from 4.9 percent in December 2013.