Kansas unemployment some of lowest in nation but vaccine hesitancy could stall recovery, expert says
Kansas ranks in the top 10 states whose unemployment claims are recovering the most since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report out Thursday from WalletHub.
Overall, Kansas is the sixth best state for unemployment recovery since the coronavirus caused a recession. Last week’s unemployment claims were lower than at the start of 2020, according to the report.
The Kansas unemployment data didn’t offer too many surprises, said Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst.
“The state is among those where unemployment claims have recovered the most since last week, and one of the states with the biggest recoveries since the start of the pandemic,” Gonzalez said. “This means that it’s been on a steady path of recovery, and we were expecting it to rank at the top.”
Kansas also ranked seventh in the nation for most recovered unemployment claims since last week.
Last week, unemployment claims in Kansas increased by 12 percent compared to the same week in 2019 — the sixth smallest increase in the U.S.
But compared to the same week in 2020, Kansas unemployment claims decreased by 83 percent, the 12th biggest decrease across the country.
Compared to the start of 2020, the claims decreased by 15 percent. That’s the 15th largest decrease in the U.S.
For its analysis, WalletHub compared every state and Washington, D.C. based on changes in initial weekly unemployment claims for multiple key weeks. It gave rankings based on more recent data as well as cumulative data since the beginning of the pandemic.
Gonzalez also said the continued economic recovery could be dependent upon how many choose to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
“If the U.S. fails to reach ‘herd immunity,’ that wouldn’t be ideal, but it also wouldn’t prevent us from getting things back to normal,” said Gonzalez. “A significant portion of the population is getting vaccinated, which will still greatly reduce the transmission rate and threat of the disease. As a result, we should see a continued decline in unemployment.”
Recovery is difficult in part because the coronavirus wiped out all the job gains in the U.S. since the Great Recession, according to WalletHub.
“The U.S. has already made big strides toward a full reopening,” Gonzalez said. “The more people who choose to get vaccinated, the smoother that reopening will be and the greater companies’ hiring capabilities will be.”
