Friday, July 30, 2010

June Employment Numbers Released

Kansas City’s unemployment rate edged up from 8.3 percent to 8.5 percent in between May and June. This is still better than the 8.9 percent rate we had one year ago.
We typically see a boost in employment and labor force during the summer months as students are looking for work. This is clearly the case this summer, as the labor force (the number of people who are employed or are actively looking for work) increased by nearly 11,500. Employment also increased, but by less than 9,000, thus leading to a higher unemployment rate.
Historically, June is the high point of the year for employment rates because of seasonal summer jobs. Hopefully that will not be the case this year. If the economic recovery gains some traction and we begin to see some real employment increases we can look forward to higher employment levels in the months to come.

No comments: