Counties With the Highest Unemployment in Kansas

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Counties with the highest unemployment in Kansas

Despite a relatively low unemployment rate, the fear of job losses remains amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Kansas using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in May 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Economists forecast a waning risk of recession and predict that the U.S. may instead be headed for an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." Still, layoffs among major U.S. employers like Amazon to Tesla have sparked concern among Americans. What's more, unemployment has spiked in nearly half the country's states, which often indicates a looming recession, a chief global economist at Piper Sandler told Business Insider. And with sky-high prices after a period of record inflation, savings and unemployment payments may not cover basic expenses for jobless Americans for long.

For comparison, the Great Recession of 2007-09 sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.

Still, as of June 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.1%, with little change from the previous month. Regional and state employment range widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state vary, ranging from just 2% in the Dakotas to 5.3% in Washington D.C.

Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Kansas.

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#50. Jefferson County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,486 people (318 unemployed)

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#49. Barton County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,172 people (370 unemployed)

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#48. Miami County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,228 people (545 unemployed)

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#47. Riley County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 35,282 people (1,057 unemployed)

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#46. Shawnee County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 93,152 people (2,834 unemployed)

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#45. Lane County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 672 people (21 unemployed)

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#44. Graham County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,118 people (35 unemployed)

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#43. Kiowa County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,144 people (36 unemployed)

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#42. Stafford County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,847 people (57 unemployed)

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#41. Cloud County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,667 people (113 unemployed)

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#40. Osage County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,101 people (252 unemployed)

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#39. Lyon County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,248 people (505 unemployed)

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#38. Leavenworth County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 37,766 people (1,164 unemployed)

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#37. Douglas County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 67,207 people (2,051 unemployed)

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#36. Clay County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,612 people (115 unemployed)

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#35. Seward County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,518 people (300 unemployed)

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#34. Franklin County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,877 people (470 unemployed)

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#33. Harvey County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,334 people (548 unemployed)

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#32. Butler County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,146 people (1,067 unemployed)

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#31. Chase County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,142 people (38 unemployed)

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#30. Ness County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,212 people (40 unemployed)

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#29. Rooks County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,297 people (76 unemployed)

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#28. Grant County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,768 people (90 unemployed)

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#27. Reno County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,779 people (961 unemployed)

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#26. Morton County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,059 people (36 unemployed)

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#25. Chautauqua County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,343 people (45 unemployed)

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#24. Russell County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,253 people (111 unemployed)

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#23. Brown County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,271 people (146 unemployed)

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#22. Allen County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,000 people (205 unemployed)

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#21. Dickinson County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,165 people (278 unemployed)

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#20. Sumner County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,868 people (375 unemployed)

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#19. Sedgwick County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 258,916 people (8,996 unemployed)

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#18. Trego County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,247 people (45 unemployed)

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#17. Woodson County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 1,507 people (54 unemployed)

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#16. Coffey County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,653 people (132 unemployed)

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#15. Labette County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,132 people (325 unemployed)

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#14. Montgomery County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,432 people (519 unemployed)

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#13. Crawford County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,536 people (673 unemployed)

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#12. Wyandotte County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 78,925 people (2,914 unemployed)

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#11. Decatur County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,111 people (42 unemployed)

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#10. Wilson County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,566 people (134 unemployed)

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#9. Cowley County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,668 people (599 unemployed)

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#8. Rush County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,577 people (62 unemployed)

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#7. Stevens County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,712 people (106 unemployed)

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#6. Neosho County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,032 people (246 unemployed)

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#5. Jewell County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,131 people (47 unemployed)

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#4. Atchison County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,505 people (279 unemployed)

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#3. Geary County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,947 people (472 unemployed)

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#2. Linn County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,403 people (198 unemployed)

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#1. Bourbon County

- May unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,966 people (295 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

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