Unemployment rates in Riley and surrounding counties continued to rise in July, the Kansas Department of Labor reported on Friday.
Preliminary estimates set Riley County’s unemployment rate at 4.2% in July, a climb from 4% in June and 3% in May. Pottawatomie County’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in July, up from 3.3% in June and 2.6% in May, and Wabaunsee County jumped a full percentage point from 3.1% in June to 4.1% in July.
Geary County reached 5.4% in July, which is the sixth-highest in Kansas, after it was at 5% in June and 4.2% in May.
In Manhattan, the unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in June to 4% in July. Junction City’s rate grew from 5.1% in June to 5.4% in July.
Unemployment rates ticked upward across the state as well. In Kansas, unemployment increased from 3.2% in July from 3% in June and 2.6% in May. That’s still below the current national unemployment rate of 4.3%
Seasonally adjusted job estimates for Kansas indicate total non-farm payroll employment decreased by 1,700 jobs from June. Private sector jobs were up 3,900 from June, but government jobs dropped by 5,600 during the month.