HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The latest jobs reports from the Kansas Department of Labor shows good news for the local economy.

According the latest numbers, Hutchinson had an unemployment rate in Sept. at 4.7 percent, down from 5.7 percent the previous month, but still higher then Sept. of last year when the rate was 4 percent.

The rate for Reno County also dropped in Sept. when the rate was reported to be 4.3 percent compared to 5.2 percent in Aug. The 4.3 rate for the county last month was higher then Sept. of last year when 3.9 percent.

There were 1,322 resident of the county looking for work last month with 904 of those in the city of Hutchinson.

Other area counties also saw their rates go down with McPherson County with the lowest rate in the area last month. Their rate was 3.1 percent.

The state’s Sept. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent. This was up from 4.3 percent in Aug. and up from 4.0 percent in Sept. of 2015.

Over the year, Kansas lost 5,900 seasonally adjusted total non-farm jobs. Kansas lost 6,300 private sector jobs since September 2015.