Kansas Unemployment Down In April

Kansas labor officials say the state’s unemployment rate dropped in April to a seasonally adjusted 4.8 percent, down from 4.9 percent in March.

The rate reported by the state Department of Labor on Thursday shows the state’s rate below the 5.5 percent for April 2013.

Private-sector job growth was 0.2 percent for the month with the creation of 1,900 new jobs. The Labor Department says 16,900 jobs have been added over the past year when adjusting for seasonal fluctuations.

A state labor economist says the data suggests positive economic growth, noting that the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits fell in April to 108,777, compared with nearly 141,000 in April 2013. The figures count all available unemployment benefit programs.