PITTSBURG, Kan. — In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, and Pittsburg was not immune. Dozens of southeast Kansas companies were forced to downsize their staff, or close their doors completely, leaving potentially hundreds without jobs and without many prospects. However, as COVID-19 numbers in the area continue to fall and vaccinations have reached the majority of area citizens, the economy has begun to pick back up again, with the current unemployment rate at 3.7 percent as of March 2021, only .4 percent higher than where the community was in March of 2020, according to the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce.