Kansas May 2020 Labor Market Report

The Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 10.0 percent in May, according to a news release from the Kansas Department of Labor Friday. This was a decrease from 11.9 percent in April and an increase from 3.1 percent in May 2019.

“During Governor Kelly’s response to stop the spread of COVID-19, preliminary estimates show Kansas took a step in the right direction in May,” Kansas Secretary of Labor Delía García said. “The unemployment rate in Kansas fell nearly two percentage points from 11.9 percent in April to 10.0 percent in May and the state gained over 24,000 jobs compared to last month. This follows historic job losses seen across the nation in March and April due to COVID-19.”

 Adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 24,200 from April. Private sector jobs increased by 29,500 from the previous month, while government decreased by 5,300 jobs, according to the release.

Since May 2019, Kansas seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have declined by 110,100. This change is due to a decrease of 94,900 private sector jobs and 15,200 government jobs, the release said.

Senior Labor Economist Tyler Tenbrink says that estimates for the month of May released Friday shou that Kansas gained back 17 percent of the jobs lost in March and April. This was due to efforts taken to halt the spread of COVID-19.