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Garner addresses Wichita’s Labor Day Picnic
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August 29, 2003 Topeka, KS — The state of labor in Kansas is still facing challenges, Jim Garner, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Human Resources
(KDHR), said Friday, August 29. Garner made these comments at the State Capitol, where he delivered KDHR’s annual State of Labor address.
“The state of labor in Kansas is challenged, “Secretary Garner said. “We must continue to meet this challenge
by working together. It is going to take the forces of business and industry and the forces of labor and the elements of state government and our
education system all working together to achieve the goal of turning the economy around and once again start growing jobs in Kansas.“
Over the past year, over $460 million in unemployment benefits has been put into the hands of unemployed Kansans, which directly affects the Kansas
economy. For the first time since 1982, the annual average of employment covered by the Unemployment Insurance program in Kansas declined in the
past year – dropping by about 14,300 jobs, from around 1,292,000 in 2001 to a little over 1,277,000 in 2002. KDHR saw the highest payout of weekly
unemployment benefits during the week of January 11, 2003, when more than 45,000 claims were processed and $9.5 million in unemployment benefits were paid to Kansans.
In July, the state’s current unemployment rate stood at 5.0 percent, compared with the national rate of 6.2 percent. Over the last year, the Kansas
unemployment rate has ranged from a low of 4.4 percent to a high of 5.3 percent.
“Governor Sebelius recognizes the challenging situation of these economic times. She has made the creation of good jobs in Kansas a top priority of her
administration,” Secretary Garner said.
The Sebelius administration strongly pushed for passage of the “Boeing Bill,” which provides smart incentives for Boeing to locate work on its next
generation of commercial aircraft in Wichita. As far as immediate assistance, the Governor was insistent that a portion of the recent distribution of federal
Reed Act funds were actually used to provide additional help to unemployed Kansans.
With the assistance of leaders in the Kansas Legislature in obtaining passage of the new Kansas Additional Benefits act, the long-term unemployed are now
getting much needed additional benefits. Since July 1, 2003, KDHR has processed nearly 1,000 of these claims and has provided $1.2 million. It is
anticipated that around $8 million in total assistance will be paid out over the next year. KDHR has also implemented the new federal Temporary
Extension of Unemployment Compensation for Airline related layoffs. So far, there have been 3,970 of these claims processed and $10.9 million in benefits has been paid out under this program.
“Over this past year, we have seen such efforts with the Boeing bill and the STAR Bonds legislation enacted this year – where business leaders and labor
leaders worked together for passage of important legislation,” Secretary Garner said. “Both pieces of legislation are critical to growing the Kansas
economy and creating new jobs to replace jobs lost in the recent past. By pursuing these types of efforts and by dedicating our joint energies on job
creation, we can envision better reports on the state of labor in future years. We strive for better than a ‘jobless recovery’ – we strive for a ‘job-growth
recovery.’ The state government of Kansas will be an active partner in pursuing this goal.”
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