Jobless rates went up slightly at the state level between January and February.
Unemployment went from 2.6 to 2.7 percent. Kansas Department of Labor economist Emilie Doerksen says this was despite an increase in non-farm jobs month-to-month.
Doerksen says construction, leisure and hospitality saw the biggest increases at the state level.
Locally, though, the trend was for more noticeable increases. Emporia went from 2.8 percent in January to 3.3 percent in February, while Lyon County went from 2.7 to 3.3 percent.
Areawide, the trend was for either flat or rising unemployment. Morris County rose slightly but has the area low at 2.9 percent. Osage County was flat at 3/3 percent. Chase County had the biggest month-to-month increase at 0.7 percent and now stands at 3.6 percent. Coffey County has the highest unemployment mark for the area at 4.3 percent.
