Jobless rate held steady in Kansas City in September

No better. No worse. The unemployment rate for the Kansas City metropolitan area was unchanged in September at 8.9 percent.

The non-seasonally adjusted estimate was released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Compared to the level of local joblessness a year ago, the number remains disappointing. In September 2008, the metro unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in September 2009, not seasonally adjusted, and 9.8 percent seasonally adjusted.

Total nonfarm employment in the Kansas City area stood at 996,700 in September 2009, down 25,300 jobs over the 12 months.

From September 2008 to September 2009, nonfarm employment decreased 2.5 percent in the Kansas City area compared to a national decline of 4.2 percent, bureau economists said.

The Missouri side of the metro area, which employed 56 percent of the area’s workforce, shed 14,000 jobs and the Kansas side lost 11,300 jobs over the last 12 months, the bureau calculated.

Education and health services were the only occupational categories to add metro area jobs --a net gain of 1,900 -- over the year.

Seasonally adjusted, total nonfarm employment for the metro area fell by 3,400 from August 2009 to September 2009, the bureau said.