Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: KS NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — October 2026
Rural Kansas unemployment splits sharply by county this fall.
Bourbon County unemployment sits at 6.3% against Sheridan County's 2.9%, while statewide labor force participation slipped to 66.4% even as the state rate held at 3.8%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Bourbon County unemployment: 6.3% — vs. 2.9% Sheridan County, 3.8% state avg
- KS labor force participation: 66.4% — Down from prior month, Sept. 2026
- KS nonfarm payrolls, monthly: -2,100 — Private sector -2,300, government +200
- KS average weekly wage: $1,140 — +2.8% y/y, Aug. 2026, below $1,654 US avg
Key takeaways
Southeast Kansas counties are carrying the state's labor slack.
Bourbon, Woodson, and Wilson counties all report unemployment at or above 6%, more than double Sheridan County's 2.9% and well above the 3.8% state rate. Economic development plans built on statewide figures risk missing where the actual distress — and the actual opportunity for targeted investment — sits.
Participation decline defines the current slowdown.
Kansas labor force participation fell to 66.4% in September even as the unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%, consistent with workers exiting the labor force. That distinction matters for workforce availability planning — a tight labor pool may persist even if headline unemployment looks benign.
Skilled trades pay is rising while office and logistics pay softens.
Electrician and HVAC Technician advertised pay both rose significantly this month, alongside a moderate CDL Truck Driver increase, while Administrative Assistant pay fell moderately and Warehouse Manager pay dropped significantly. Divergent wage direction across role categories is consistent with a local economy where trades and transport are tightening faster than office-based and logistics-management work.
Government payrolls are stabilizing this cycle.
Kansas added 200 government jobs in September even as private payrolls fell 2,300, continuing a year-over-year pattern where public-sector losses (-3,200) ran counter to the private-sector gain (+7,300) over twelve months. Public-sector employment in nonmetro counties appears to be functioning as a counterweight to private-sector volatility, a relevant consideration for local fiscal planning.
Median advertised pay by role — KS NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $20,716 | $25,529 | $28,864 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,271 | $25,355 | $27,844 | Moderate decline | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,949 | $35,467 | $38,266 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,600 | $80,000 | $91,000 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $25,422 | $28,220 | $30,286 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $32,760 | $37,233 | $38,480 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $56,817 | $69,486 | $74,956 | Significant increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,769 | $35,230 | $37,440 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $28,030 | $34,320 | $36,400 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,707 | $28,235 | $31,200 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,280 | $37,618 | $42,640 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,282 | $36,400 | $39,277 | Moderate decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $50,620 | $64,247 | $65,855 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $76,440 | $92,247 | $101,920 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $97,430 | $132,669 | $147,700 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $84,485 | $118,965 | $137,442 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $55,206 | $62,793 | $71,748 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $70,199 | $84,119 | $87,873 | Moderate increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $50,964 | $60,493 | $69,122 | Stable | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $49,242 | $64,786 | $94,912 | Moderate increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $64,375 | $75,000 | $75,295 | Significant increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,120 | $42,640 | $51,009 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $67,506 | $103,571 | $120,674 | Significant increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $63,231 | $66,655 | $67,439 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,413 | $90,250 | $98,800 | Stable | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $72,116 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $71,500 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Retail Trade | $36,781 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $55,157 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Information | $99,744 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $63,938 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $64,500 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $68,860 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $30,160 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Government | $58,523 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Kansas nonmetropolitan counties show a two-speed economy this month: Southeast Kansas counties including Bourbon (6.3%), Woodson and Wilson (6.0% each) carry unemployment rates nearly double the state's 3.8% average, while rural counties like Sheridan (2.9%) sit well below it. Statewide labor force participation slipped to 66.4% in September and total nonfarm payrolls fell 2,100, with private-sector losses of 2,300 partially offset by government gains — a pattern that, if mirrored in nonmetro counties, points to workforce withdrawal as the dominant force shaping rural labor supply.
What it means
County-level unemployment spreads this wide — from under 3% to above 6% — signal that economic development and workforce strategy cannot be designed at the state level alone; a Bourbon County investment case looks fundamentally different from a Sheridan County one. Statewide participation decline alongside flat-to-falling advertised pay in several nonmetro-relevant roles (Administrative Assistant down moderately, Warehouse Manager down significantly) suggests softening local demand in office and logistics functions even as durables manufacturing and skilled trades (Electrician, HVAC Technician, CDL Truck Driver all up) hold firmer ground. Commerce leaders and economic development officials may want to evaluate expansion or recruitment pitches by county, weighing them against statewide averages, given how unevenly conditions are distributed across nonmetro Kansas.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: The October 2026 Kansas Labor Report, due November 20 from KDOL, will be the first chance to see whether the September county-level unemployment spread (Bourbon at 6.3% vs. Sheridan at 2.9%) persists or narrows. A widening gap would strengthen the case for county-targeted economic development responses.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide labor force participation has now declined for multiple months running, a trend that, if it continues in nonmetro counties with already-thin labor pools, could constrain any employer looking to expand local operations regardless of unemployment headlines.
Early indicator: Fed Beige Book commentary notes Kansas manufacturers increasing hours and shifts due to limited workforce availability — a dynamic likely more acute in nonmetro counties with smaller labor pools. Watch whether this translates into further advertised pay gains for production and trades roles over the next two months.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth is running behind CPI inflation (1.5% median earnings growth vs. 3.5% CPI in Q3), and Kansas's five-year wage gains have only narrowly outpaced inflation. Should that gap widen locally, household spending power in nonmetro counties — and by extension local retail and service demand — bears watching.
Sources
- USAFacts/BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — Bourbon County unemployment at 6.3%, highest in Kansas
- Kansas Department of Labor — Kansas labor force participation fell to 66.4% in September
- USAFacts/BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — Sheridan County unemployment at 2.9%, lowest in Kansas
- Kansas Department of Labor — KS nonfarm payrolls fell 2,100, government added 200 jobs
- Federal Reserve Beige Book — Manufacturers increasing hours/shifts due to workforce limits
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Median weekly earnings rose 1.5% vs. 3.5% CPI gain, Q3 2026
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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