Labor
Diverse Labor Supply in the Manhattan Area
The “Manhattan Labor Basin” consists of a seven-county area with a total population of approximately 138,000 and a civilian labor force of more than 75,000. According to a 2002 Docking Institute labor study, the “Available Labor Pool” for the Manhattan area is 30,147. Almost 98% of the available labor pool has at least a high school diploma, more than 76% has at least some college education, and almost 37% has at least a bachelor’s degree. Annually around 4,000 students graduate from K-State, 250 graduate from the technical college, and 3,000 Fort Riley military personnel could potentially enter the labor force in the Manhattan area. Many wish to stay in the area if the right employment opportunity would present itself.
| Civilian Labor Force |
| Unemployment Year |
Manhattan Rate |
Riley County Rate |
| 1998 |
3.7% |
4.1% |
| 1999 |
2.6% |
2.9% |
| 2000 |
3.3% |
3.6% |
| 2001 |
3.4% |
3.8% |
| 2002 |
2.9% |
3.6% |
| 2003 |
2.9% |
3.1% |
| 2004 |
3.3% |
3.6% |
| 2005 |
3.5% |
3.6% |
| 2006 |
3.2% |
3.3% |
| 2007 |
3.0% |
3.1% |
| Employment by Industry - Riley County |
| Industry |
2005 Average |
Percent |
| Government |
7,579 |
30.1% |
| Service |
9,618 |
38.2% |
| Retail Trade |
3,355 |
13.3% |
| Financial, Insurance, Real Estate |
1,577 |
6.3% |
| Construction |
1,216 |
4.8% |
| Farm & Agriculture Services |
129 |
0.5% |
| Manufacturing |
1,017 |
4.1% |
| Wholesale Trade |
543 |
2.2% |
| Transportation & Utilities |
120 |
0.5% |
| Payroll by Industry - Riley County, 2005 Average |
| Industry |
Salary |
| Government |
$43,989 |
| Financial, Insurance, Real Estate |
$35,705 |
| Wholesale Trade |
$38,177 |
| Construction |
$31,206 |
| Manufacturing |
$29,897 |
| Services |
$21,164 |
| Transportation & Warehousing |
$32,020 |
| Retail Trade |
$17,222 |
|
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