“Whenever you are in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make a difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it, that factor is attitude”.
William James, American Philosopher and Psychologist 1842-1910.
I received an information release from the US Department of Labor that gave a complete list of the job situation within our country. In April, the private sector added 218,000 jobs. In May, the private sector added only 41,000 jobs. That is exactly the opposite pattern from a normal economic recovery.
Normally, in the depths of a severe recession, the recovery accelerates month by month as confidence recovers, businesses invest and consumers come back into the market. The numbers for May (an over 80% decline in new private-sector job creation) combined with the fallout from the European fiscal crisis and the economic costs of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf could further slow down the economy.
The fact is that of 431,000 nonfarm jobs added in May, 412,000 are temporary government jobs for the 2010 census, whose layoff in the fall will send the unemployment rates back up. The latest unemployment rate came down from 9.9% to 9.7% because 322,000 Americans dropped out of the job market and quit looking for work.
As you know my field of expertise focuses with the construction industry. According to the BOL report the construction industry lost over 35,000 jobs between May 2009 and May 2010, specifically the construction of buildings lost 7,500, residential building lost 3,300, nonresidential building lost 4,200, Heavy and Civil engineering construction lost 7,400, Specialty trades contractors lost 19,300, Residential specialty trades contractors lost 2,800, and Nonresidential specialty trade contractors lost 16,500.
The specialty contractors include electricians, plumbers, carpet installers, HVAC, painters, etc. The trend proves the slowdown is real and continues. We will come back out of it, we always have but we have to make sure our private sector construction company owners believe they can re-employ those workers and provide a good wage and benefit package.
On a brighter note the transportation and warehousing industry increased employment by 11,100 jobs. This industry includes air, land, truck, rail and water transportation. Also includes pipeline, scenic and sightseeing transportation, courier and messenger service and the warehousing and storage.
The federal government had a net gain of 390,000, 412,000 were federal including census, total federal excluding Postal Service was 415,100, The Postal Service lost 2,900, States Governments lost 15,000 and in fact the only real gain nationwide was in local education with 1,300 new jobs.
This is a snapshot of the national employment scene.
In 2008 Kansas was projected to have a population of 2,802,134 that is a 5.3% increase since 1998. The median household income was $47,341 and a per capita income of $37,978. The unemployment rate was 6.3% and there were 14,279 unemployment claims. There were 1,334,500 non-farm employees.
The household average income was quite interesting, Johnson County topped the list at $72,000 followed by Miami County at $59,000, Leavenworth County with $58,850 and Butler County came in 4th with $56,372.
The full report can be viewed here.
As you all know I am the Vice-Chairman of the Legislative Post Audit committee and I have been assigned to a three-member subcommittee to screen and interview the candidates that apply to fill the vacant position of Post Auditor. This mission has just begun and we are currently advertising for applicants. Our current auditor Barb Hinton is leaving for a similar position in Washington State.
Through the use of email we will receive and review résumé’s until June 30th and in mid July the subcommittee will meet to further screen and select some 6 or so finalists. We will then conduct phone interviews to further screen the qualified applicants. Following that process we will be in a position to offer an on-site visit for 2-3 applicants with the entire Post Audit Committee.
The Legislative Division of Post Audit is authorized to examine the operations and records of any agency that receives state funding. Some audits are statutory and required on a regular basis; other audits are conducted upon request of the Legislators, Governor or even the Judiciary Branch.
Recently six school districts requested efficiency audits as a means of cost savings. This division is non-partisan and the committee consists of Senators and House members from both parties that are selected by the chamber leadership to fairly represent the entire legislature. I have served on this committee for 4 years.
I was recently tasked by the Speaker of the House to be a committee member of a select group of legislators to serve on the Judicial Council that is charged with reviewing all of the lien laws currently in Kansas Statute. My experience with past legislation and contract law will serve us well. I welcome this additional challenge.
Election season is upon us and I am proud to announce that I have filed for re-election to the House of Representatives. This will be my 4th term and I am honored that the voters in the 75th District have allowed me to be your Representative in Topeka.
If I can be of assistance to you please do not hesitate to contact me. My Topeka office is closed until January 10th, 2011 but you can reach me at home. Thanks!
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