Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) stood at 1,116,200 in August 2019, up 19,500, or 1.8 percent, from August 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, nonfarm employment nationwide rose 1.4 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that for the first time since December 2018, the Kansas portion of the MSA added more jobs over the year than the Missouri portion. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Kansas City metropolitan area is comprised of two separately identifiable employment centers—the Missouri portion and the Kansas portion of the MSA. The Missouri side, which had approximately 56 percent of the area’s workforce, added 6,500 jobs (+1.1 percent) from August 2018 to August 2019, and the Kansas side added 13,000 jobs (+2.7 percent).

Education and health services had the largest employment increase, adding 10,000 jobs since August 2018. The advance was largely attributable to a gain of 6,500 jobs in the Missouri portion of the metropolitan area. The 6.5-percent local rate of job growth exceeded the national increase of 2.5 percent over the year. 

Government had the next largest employment increase, adding 5,900 jobs (+4.1 percent) from August 2018 to August 2019. The Missouri portion of the metropolitan area added 4,500 jobs while the Kansas portion gained 1,400.

Two additional supersectors added 3,000 jobs or more in the Kansas City area since August 2018. Professional and business services, the area’s second largest supersector, added 5,000 local jobs due entirely to an increase of 5,200 jobs in the Kansas portion of the area. The 2.5-percent rate of local employment growth for this supersector was above the national rate of 2.1 percent. Mining, logging, and construction added 3,200 jobs largely due to the 2,400 jobs added on the Missouri side.

Three Kansas City area supersectors lost jobs over the year: trade, transportation, and utilities (-4,200); manufacturing (-1,200); and information (-1,000). In the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, both portions of the metro area lost jobs. In the manufacturing sector, all of the losses were on the Missouri side (-1,600). The local job loss rate of 1.9 percent in trade, transportation, and utilities was counter to the 0.3-percent increase for the nation. In the information sector, the 6.0-percent local rate of job loss was in contrast to a 0.2-percent gain for the nation.

Metropolitan area employment data for September 2019 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 30, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2017 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria.

For some employment series, the sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports which are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample survey, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability--that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data are also subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the special estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for the total private employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series at the area and division level are available upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.  

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Kansas City, MO-KS, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties in Missouri; Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.\he Kansas City, MO, portion includes Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties in Missouri.

The Kansas City, KS, portion includes Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the Current Employment Statistics program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, the United States and the Kansas City metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Aug 2018	Jun 2019	Jul 2019	Aug 2019(p)	Aug 2018 to Aug 2019(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	149,453	152,243	151,169	151,517	2,064	1.4
Mining and logging	757	762	763	762	5	0.7
Construction	7,587	7,699	7,750	7,764	177	2.3
Manufacturing	12,801	12,926	12,922	12,934	133	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,661	27,831	27,801	27,748	87	0.3
Information	2,851	2,837	2,848	2,856	5	0.2
Financial activities	8,646	8,712	8,760	8,760	114	1.3
Professional and business services	21,216	21,584	21,604	21,668	452	2.1
Education and health services	23,444	24,032	23,944	24,021	577	2.5
Leisure and hospitality	17,096	17,403	17,478	17,398	302	1.8
Other services	5,890	6,014	6,020	5,983	93	1.6
Government	21,504	22,443	21,279	21,623	119	0.6
Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA
Total nonfarm	1,096.7	1,126.4	1,109.4	1,116.2	19.5	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	51.5	53.5	54.4	54.7	3.2	6.2
Manufacturing	78.0	78.6	74.6	76.8	-1.2	-1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	217.4	215.0	214.1	213.2	-4.2	-1.9
Information	16.7	16.0	15.9	15.7	-1.0	-6.0
Financial activities	80.0	78.7	78.8	80.0	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	196.8	202.2	202.2	201.8	5.0	2.5
Education and health services	153.8	161.2	161.5	163.8	10.0	6.5
Leisure and hospitality	115.4	117.1	116.1	117.2	1.8	1.6
Other services	42.9	43.1	43.1	42.9	0.0	0.0
Government	144.2	161.0	148.7	150.1	5.9	4.1
Kansas City, MO, portion
Total nonfarm	614.3	629.9	618.6	620.8	6.5	1.1
Mining, logging, and construction	29.6	30.7	31.4	32.0	2.4	8.1
Manufacturing	46.7	47.1	44.6	45.1	-1.6	-3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	111.2	111.4	110.4	109.3	-1.9	-1.7
Information	9.6	9.1	9.0	8.9	-0.7	-7.3
Financial activities	42.2	40.1	40.8	41.3	-0.9	-2.1
Professional and business services	101.8	103.5	103.5	101.6	-0.2	-0.2
Education and health services	85.7	89.9	89.5	92.2	6.5	7.6
Leisure and hospitality	71.3	70.6	69.6	69.8	-1.5	-2.1
Other services	25.9	26.1	26.0	25.8	-0.1	-0.4
Government	90.3	101.4	93.8	94.8	4.5	5.0
Kansas City, KS, portion
Total nonfarm	482.4	496.5	490.8	495.4	13.0	2.7
Mining, logging, and construction	21.9	22.8	23.0	22.7	0.8	3.7
Manufacturing	31.3	31.5	30.0	31.7	0.4	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	106.2	103.6	103.7	103.9	-2.3	-2.2
Information	7.1	6.9	6.9	6.8	-0.3	-4.2
Financial activities	37.8	38.6	38.0	38.7	0.9	2.4
Professional and business services	95.0	98.7	98.7	100.2	5.2	5.5
Education and health services	68.1	71.3	72.0	71.6	3.5	5.1
Leisure and hospitality	44.1	46.5	46.5	47.4	3.3	7.5
Other services	17.0	17.0	17.1	17.1	0.1	0.6
Government	53.9	59.6	54.9	55.3	1.4	2.6
Footnotes (p) Preliminary