Unemployment claims continue to decrease in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A recent report found that unemployment claims continue to decrease in Kansas amid high inflation.

With new unemployment claims decreasing by 6.6% week-over-week on Nov. 21, coupled with high inflation and the threat of recession, WalletHub.com says it released its updated rankings for the States Where Unemployment Claims are Decreasing the Most on Dec. 1.

WalletHub noted that most states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week. Surprisingly, it said 24 of those states, including Kansas, had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week in 2021. However, most states again had lower unemployment claims than in the same week in 2019.

Source: WalletHub

The Sunflower State ranked 20th overall and ranked 14th for unemployment claims per 100,000 Kansans in the workforce. There were 35.57% fewer claims for the latest week that data is available than the previous week, 36.48% fewer claims than the same week in 2019 and 29.76% more claims than the same week of 2021. There were 68 claims for every 100,000 residents in the workforce.

To the south, Oklahoma ranked 6th overall and 6th for unemployment claims per 100,000 residents in the workforce. There were 31.64% fewer claims than in the previous week, 55.38% fewer claims than in the same week of 2019 and 45.1% fewer claims than the same week in 2021. About 50 residents claimed unemployment per 100,000 residents in the workforce.

To the north, Nebraska ranked 13th overall and 11th for the number of claims compared to workers. There were 31.88% fewer claims than in the previous week, 44.54% fewer claims than the same week in 2019 and 12.12% fewer claims than the same week in 2021. There were 57 claims for every 100,000 Nebraskans in the workforce.

To the east, Missouri ranked 14th overall and 19th for claims per residents in the workforce. There were 33.78% fewer claims than last week, 40.74% fewer claims than the same week in 2019 and 17.27% fewer claims than the same week in 2021. About 77 claims were made per 100,000 workers.

Lastly, to the west, Colorado ranked 24th overall and 15th for claims per working residents. There were 33.61% fewer claims than last week, 1.82% fewer claims than the same week in 2019 and 40.2% more claims than the same week in 2021. About 69 residents made claims per 100,000 in the workforce.

The report also found that Oklahoma saw the third-largest decrease in claims for this week compared to the same week in 2019 as well as the fifth-largest decrease in claims compared to the same week in 2021. Meanwhile, Colorado saw the third smallest decrease in claims compared to the same week in 2021 while Kansas saw the fifth smallest.

The states with the most decreased claims include: