diff --git a/app/api/leantime/status-labels/route.ts b/app/api/leantime/status-labels/route.ts
index b00f5780..3354f412 100644
--- a/app/api/leantime/status-labels/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/leantime/status-labels/route.ts
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ export async function GET() {
             name: label.name,
             statusType: label.statusType,
             class: label.class,
-            sortKey: label.sortKey,
+            sortKey: Number(label.sortKey) || 0, // Convert to number, default to 0 if invalid
             projects: []
           });
         }
@@ -134,9 +134,9 @@ export async function GET() {
       });
     });
 
-    // Convert the map to an array and sort by sortKey
+    // Convert the map to an array and sort by sortKey numerically
     const transformedLabels = Array.from(uniqueLabels.values())
-      .sort((a, b) => (a.sortKey || '').localeCompare(b.sortKey || ''));
+      .sort((a, b) => a.sortKey - b.sortKey);
 
     return NextResponse.json({ statusLabels: transformedLabels });
   } catch (error) {