Kansas' unemployment rate hits 7 percent in June
Kansas' unemployment rate hits 7 percent in June; $20M-21M in benefits paid out per week
By John Hanna, Associated Press Writer
On Friday July 17, 2009, 4:20 pm EDT
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Unemployment in Kansas hit a 26-year high of 7 percent in June, and the state said Friday that its jobless workers are receiving between $20 million and $21 million in benefits a week.
The Kansas Department of Labor reported that nearly 109,000 Kansans were actively looking for work in June, up from fewer than 67,000 in June 2008, when the jobless rate was 4.4 percent. The state lost more than 53,000 non-farm jobs in that time, or about 3.8 percent of the total.
The last time unemployment was as high was March 1983, when it reached 7.1 percent. Since the start of the year, the rate has been at least 2 percentage points higher each month than it was in 2008. The rate in May was 6.9 percent.
Economists and state officials say Kansas typically enters recessions later than most states but recovers more slowly. Kent Eckles, a vice president for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, said economists are telling the business group that an economic recovery isn't likely to reach Kansas until 2011.
"We're probably going to bounce along the bottom for quite a while," Eckles said during an interview. "I don't know if I really see any bright spots."
The Department of Labor said more than 242,000 Kansans continued to receive unemployment benefits in June, and nearly 26,000 others filed their first claims. Benefits include $4 million a week in emergency federal assistance.
The state finances jobless benefits with a payroll tax, up to 4 percent for most employers. In 2007, the state had enough cash set aside for benefits to reduce the tax for many companies but said it would rise if the reserves became too low.
"Employers are going to start to have to pay those taxes," Eckles said.
Department of Labor spokeswoman Annie Flachsbarth said $69 million in federal stimulus money helped bolster the unemployment trust fund but added, "We're monitoring the fund very closely."
The department said the slight change in the unemployment rate from May to June was likely caused by seasonal factors, such as school employees being laid off after classes ended.
But in some parts of the economy, the picture significantly worsened from June 2008 to last month. The state lost more than 10 percent of its manufacturing jobs, or about 19,300 of them.
Layoffs among aviation companies such as Boeing, Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft are a big reason for the losses. The state's aviation industry is centered in the Wichita area, and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas -- a government-funded provider of employment services -- reported that 21 industry manufacturers have laid off more than 10,600 workers since Oct. 1.
Employment by construction companies also has dropped more than 13 percent, shedding some 9,000 jobs from June 2008 to June 2009, the department said.
AI
