State unemployment claims continue to rise rapidly in Kansas as the national unemployment rate is beginning to stand on par with the great depression at 14.7 percent.
These statistics were reported by Kansas Labor Secretary Delia Garcia during Governor Laura Kelly’s second press conference this week Wednesday afternoon. According to Garcia during the depression, it took two years for the nation to see the employment declines we have seen in just the past six weeks.
Garcia says between Mar. 15 and May 9 the labor department received over 236,000 initial claims, with over 115,000 continued weekly claims processed just last week with roughly 93 individuals receiving benefit payments. So far, payments have totaled over $320 million according to Garcia.
Garcia adds the department is continuing to receive between 100,000 to 200,000 calls a day. During the question and answer portion of the press conference, Garcia was asked why some individuals who have applied for unemployment benefits weeks ago have yet to receive payments.
Garcia says this is due partially to a bank cap in place at the state’s processing bank. According to Garcia, the bank is not used to paying out the volume of money which it has been to cover the cost of unemployment benefits.
Garcia says the good news is they have identified the issue and are currently working with the bank to lift the cap to a higher amount to prevent these issues in the future. Garcia adds the state is in a good position with its trust fund in order to cover the cost of all unemployment benefits for the foreseeable future.
The next jobless rate update from the Kansas Department of Labor is set to be released on May 22.
Governor Kelly is scheduled to continue her regular news briefings at 2 pm Friday. You can tune into the conference on KVOE 1400 am, 96.9 fm and KVOE.com.
