Employment

Unemployment Claims Unfortunately Break More Records

The unemployment picture in the United States has gotten a lot more grim, due to COVID-19 shock waves. For the week ended March 28, unemployment claims hit 6.448 million, a new record since the numbers have been tracked by the… more

COVID-Driven Cost Cuts Hit Stormont Vail Salaries 

Robert Kenagy, CEO of Stormont Vail Health, has issued a note to employees regarding salary cuts at one of the region's largest medical centers while it copes with the costs of fighting the COVID-19 virus. In an email sent Tuesday… more

Mayor Lucas Gets Serious About Social Distancing

Mayor Lucas is getting more serious about social distancing in Kansas City, In an interview today with radio station KCUR, Lucas said that he has seen kids playing basketball games and heard of people having backyard house parties with more… more

KUMC’s Steve Stites on COVID-19 Challenges

As COVID-19 spreads across the nation, local healthcare organizations are talking about how to share resources and are hopeful that if residents heed their advice, the greater metro area will have the resources to help those needing hospitalization. “As we… more

Hospital Execs: The Next Week Will Be Big

A week into the stay-at-home directive from local governments, officials from the University of Kansas Health System said Tuesday morning that the coming week could be determinative in the fight against spread of the COVID-19 virus. Steven Stites, the hospital's… more

Apparel Retailers Feel COVID-19 Pain

At least two national retailers with a significant presence in the Kansas City area are furloughing most of their workers in anticipation that they will need to keep their stores closed longer than they had previously planned. Macy's, with six… more

House Passes Major Stimulus Package

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a record  $2-trillion stimulus bill to help individuals and businesses recover financially from COVID-19. An NBC News report breaks down how much of stimulus check that one will receive: "If you made less… more

Small Businesses Take a COVID-19 Hit

About 56 percent of small businesses say they are impacted negatively by COVID-19, according to a recent report from Kansas City-based customer conversion and retention platform Bellwethr. While 55.5 percent said they are feeling negative impacts, 44.4 percent said that… more

Winners and Losers in a COVID Economy

You only had to look in the paper-products aisle of your local grocer  this month to know instinctively that those stores were going to see big sales, and for more than just toilet paper.   As the business world reorients… more

Unemployment Claims Hit Record Numbers

Initial unemployment claims hit 3.283 million for the week ended March 21, the "highest the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series," says the Department of Labor in its weekly unemployment report.… more