WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Kansas is seeing a post-pandemic low unemployment rate. The rate is down to 3.8% in December from a high of about 11% in April. But that may not be telling the whole story.
Keith Lawing says although the unemployment rate is dropping, the WorkForce Alliance Center isn’t seeing the number of people who are employed change at the same rate.
In his eyes, that means the decreased unemployment rate may not be a lasting trend. It could mean people are dropping out of the labor market, or they’re not looking for jobs anymore. It could also mean people are in the process of applying for new benefits.
“So until we see an unemployment trend that drops for several months, I don’t think the unemployment rate in this county, in this part of the state, is declining at all,” said Lawing.
Lawing also says during the month of December they usually see a decrease in unemployment because of temporary jobs.
He also believes the vaccine rollout will help people get back into the groove of things and more jobs will become available.
