Kansas City area’s unemployment rate is at 4.4 percent

The Kansas City area had an estimated jobless rate of 4.4 percent in March, nestling in a range that many job market analysts consider a “full employment” measure.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the area’s unemployment rate declined from 4.5 percent in February and stood 0.8 percentage points lower than it was in March 2015.

Meanwhile, employers recorded a net monthly gain of 6,200 payroll jobs to employ about 13,600 more employees in the metro area this March than in March a year ago.

The bureau estimated a metro area job count of 1,043,500 last month. It put the area’s number of unemployed job seekers at 49,321.

Hirers generally are reporting a mismatch between the talents needed to fill current job openings and the skills or interests of job hunters.

In the region, cities that are homes to major universities are showing the lowest unemployment rates: 3.3 percent in Columbia, 3.4 percent in Lawrence and 3 percent in Manhattan, Kan.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Kansas City area’s unemployment rate is at 4.4 percent."