TOPEKA – The latest Kansas Department of Labor unemployment figures for April show the rate for Hutchinson dropped from 7.2% in March to 6.3% in April, a nearly 1-point drop. That number is also lower then where we were last year at this time at 6.9%. 1,317 residents of the city were listed as unemployed by the department of labor, while 19-thousand, 543 had jobs, that from a work force of 20-thousand, 860.
The number for Reno County also dropped from 5.9% in March to 5.2% in April. The number for the county in April of last year was 5.6%. 1-thousand, 773-residents were listed as being unemployed in the county, but most of those are in the city.
The surrounding counties also saw their rates drop. The April rate for Harvey County is at 5.8% in April, down from 6.7% in March, Kingman County was at 4.4% in April, down from 5.4% in March.
McPherson County’s rate dropped from 6.2% in March to 5.3% in April, while Pratt County went from 4.6% in March to 3.9% in April. Rice County’s rate also dropped from 4.7% in March to 4% in April.
Even Sedgwick County numbers showed some improvement, however with the announced layoffs at Hawker Beechcraft, that could change again. As of April, their rate was at 7% down from 7.9% in March.
The report state-wide showed monthly employment gains due to seasonal changes, continued improvement since 2011 and a decrease in initial unemployment benefit claims.
Private sector employment grew by 13,900 jobs since March, a 1.3 % increase. These gains were caused by seasonal changes, showing a pause in the overall improvement of the labor market. Since April 2011, Kansas has gained 10,800 private sector jobs, a 1 % increase.
Initial unemployment claims decreased from 17,997 in March 2012 to 14,701 claims in April. This shows that Kansas employers are shedding fewer jobs.
“We should be pleased that Kansas continues to experience job growth. This overall picture of measured, steady gains is acceptable at this time.” Karin Brownlee, Kansas Secretary of Labor, said.
The unemployment rate was 5.8 %, a decline from 6.6 % in March and from 6.3 % in April 2011. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Kansas was 6.1 %, down from 6.7 in April 2011 and from 6.2 % one month ago.
Nine of the 11 major industries in Kansas reported job gains since March 2012 mostly because of seasonal changes. Professional and business services increased by 3,300 jobs, a 2.2 % gain in the past month. Government was the only major industry that reported job losses during this time.
“The pace of job creation in Kansas has slowed in the past three months. April added only 100 seasonally adjusted jobs over the month. This sluggish growth is reflective of what is happening in the national economy as gross domestic product growth has slowed creating an environment that is not favorable for steady job growth,” Tyler Tenbrink, Labor Economist, said.
Continued unemployment benefit claims increased slightly from 199,138 claims one year ago to 199,393 in April 2012. This is also an increase from 185,502 continued claims in March 2012.