Kansas Unemployment Hits 7 Percent

(AP) – The Kansas Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate hit 7 percent in June.

The state has seen its unemployment rates spike this year because of the nation’s economic problems. The unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in June 2008.

Labor Secretary Jim Garner said Friday that Kansans are receiving between $20 million and $21 million in unemployment benefits a week. That figure includes $4 million in emergency federal benefits.

Almost 109,000 Kansans were actively seeking work in June, up from about 105,000 in May, when the unemployment rate was 6.9 percent.

The department said Kansas lost more than 53,000 non-farm jobs from June 2008 to June 2009, a decline of 3.8 percent. Manufacturing employment is down 10 percent.