Kansas Leads Nation in June Employment Decrease

July 23, 2009

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics released numbers, which showed that Kansas had the highest percent decrease in unemployment. Between the months of May and June, employment in the state dropped by 1.4 percent- the highest margin in the nation.

Though it does not have the largest unemployment rate, at only 7 percent, it has grown exponentially since June 2008, when it rested at 4.4 percent for the entire state. The federal unemployment rate is currently 9.7 percent. Some states, including North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana have unemployment rates that hover above 10 percent.

Congress is currently working on several plans to bring the unemployment rate back down and the President has promised to create new jobs for the nation’s workers. Some experts are saying that they expect the unemployment rate to peak at about 13 percent, and then gradually drop back down. As many Americans face bankruptcy and foreclosure, stress levels are high.