? December was another month of job losses for the state of Kansas, particularly in the private sector, the Kansas Department of Labor reported Friday.

At the same time, the size of the civilian labor force grew slightly in December, and the statewide unemployment rate fell a tenth of a point, to 4.2 percent.

Seasonally adjusted figures show the state lost 500 nonfarm jobs during December and 9,300 jobs since December 2015.

Private-sector jobs fell by 1,100 over the month and 9,400 for the year.

“Rounding out the year, preliminary estimates show fewer jobs in the state than one year ago,” the department’s senior labor economist, Tyler Tenbrink, said. “Estimates of the size of the labor force improved in December but remain lower than one year ago.”

On a nonseasonally adjusted basis, using a strict headcount of employment, Kansas lost 6,300 nonfarm jobs over the month, including 4,900 private-sector jobs.

Since December 2015, Kansas lost 9,500 nonfarm jobs on a nonadjusted basis, including 9,700 private-sector jobs.

The biggest job losses over the month were in the financial activities sector, which includes finance, insurance and real estate businesses. That sector lost an estimated 1,300 jobs during the month, or 1.3 percent.

That was followed by education and health services, which lost about 900 jobs, or 0.5 percent.

The mining and logging sector, which includes the oil and gas industries — which Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration often cite as a main source of the state’s sluggish economy — lost only about 100 jobs over the month and 700 jobs over the year. But those 700 lost jobs represented 8.6 percent of the industry.

The Lawrence-area labor market lost about 100 jobs over the month but gained 200 jobs over the year, the report said. Lawrence’s unemployment rate in December stood at 3.2 percent, unchanged from November but up one-tenth of a point from a year ago.

Jobs in the five-county Topeka metropolitan area remained nearly unchanged since November, but the area lost more than 1,700 jobs over the year. Its unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a point in December, to 3.9 percent.

The Wichita area had a relatively stable jobs market, gaining about 170 jobs over the month but losing about 300 jobs over the year. Its unemployment rate in December stood at 4.3 percent, the highest of any metropolitan area in the state and up one-tenth of a point from November.

A similar pattern occurred in the five counties on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which saw an increase of about 900 jobs since November, but lost nearly 2,300 jobs over the year. The jobless rate there was 3.6 percent in December, unchanged from a month earlier.

The Manhattan area lost about 800 jobs from November to December, and more than 1,200 jobs over the year. Its unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a point over the month, to 3 percent.