HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly's release claiming the lowest unemployment rate in Kansas history is correct, but that may not necessarily mean completely positive things for the overall economy, according to conservative economist Michael Austin.
"Her report of Kansas reaching the lowest unemployment in history is true, but it coincidentally forgets to mention it's because Kansas is seeing the share of Kansans either working or looking for work is 66.5% as of May."
That's far less than the highest share of 71.5% coming out of the Great Recession.
"The Kansas unemployment rate isn't low because the economy is great," Austin said. "It's low because a growing number of Kansas folks are just unhappy."
Part of it is because the same amount of work continues to buy less.
"If the Kansas economy was doing well, then wages should grow faster than inflation," Austin said. "The pay raise that you get should outpace what we're seeing at the pump, what we're seeing at a checkout. Instead, Kansans wages have fallen for the last seven months."
The participation rate isn't as low as it has been, however. The 10-year low for the labor force participation rate was 65.9 percent in June 2020.