Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS, metropolitan area increased by 42,900 over the year in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job gain, 4.0 percent, compared to the 4.1-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Kansas City, MO-KS, is made up of two separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area—the Missouri portion and the Kansas portion. Employment increased over the year in both portions of the metropolitan area. Kansas City, MO, which accounted for 56 percent of the area’s total nonfarm employment, gained 26,100 jobs over the year. Kansas City, KS, with 44 percent of area’s employment, gained 16,800 jobs.

Industry employment

In Kansas City, MO-KS, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+15,500) among private-industry supersectors, with both portions of the metropolitan area recording increases. (See chart 2.) Within the supersector, the accommodation and food services sector added 11,200 jobs in the metropolitan area. Gains in this sector numbered 6,900 in the Missouri portion and 4,300 in the Kansas portion. The 17.5-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to a 14.3-percent gain on the national level.

Professional and business services employment increased by 12,800 over the year in the metropolitan area, with the Missouri portion adding 10,400 jobs. The metropolitan area had a 6.9-percent increase, which compared to a national rate of 5.5 percent for this supersector.

The trade, transportation, and utilities supersector gained 12,700 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area, with the Kansas portion adding 7,700 jobs and the Missouri portion adding 5,000 jobs. Within the supersector, retail trade had the largest job gain (+6,500) in the metropolitan area with both the Missouri portion and Kansas portion having over-the-year job increases. The metropolitan area had a 5.9-percent increase, which compared to a national rate of 3.0 percent for this supersector. 

The financial activities supersector lost 4,000 jobs from November a year ago in the metropolitan area. The metropolitan area had a 5.0-percent decrease compared to a 1.7-percent increase for the nation.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for December 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

Special technical note: This technical note describes the procedures regularly used on a monthly basis to develop estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the procedures described in this technical note have been modified. The modifications are briefly described in the box note of this news release. More information on the changes to the CES business birth-death model is available at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm.

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/ces-20110307.pdf.

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 surveys, 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 also are 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 specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Measures of sampling error for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.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 at the supersector level and for the private service-providing, goods-producing, total private and total nonfarm levels are available on the BLS website at https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/bmrk_article.htm.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018.

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

• The Kansas City, MO, portion includes Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties.

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

Additional information

Employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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	Nov 2020	Sep 2021	Oct 2021	Nov 2021(p)	Nov 2020 to Nov 2021(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	144,121	147,650	149,226	150,004	5,883	4.1
Mining and logging	599	646	653	648	49	8.2
Construction	7,413	7,626	7,666	7,605	192	2.6
Manufacturing	12,191	12,465	12,517	12,558	367	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,520	27,409	27,761	28,343	823	3.0
Information	2,659	2,771	2,790	2,797	138	5.2
Financial activities	8,763	8,860	8,907	8,915	152	1.7
Professional and business services	20,580	21,207	21,603	21,708	1,128	5.5
Education and health services	23,510	23,584	23,917	24,006	496	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	13,418	15,397	15,435	15,332	1,914	14.3
Other services	5,475	5,726	5,773	5,781	306	5.6
Government	21,993	21,959	22,204	22,311	318	1.4
Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA
Total nonfarm	1,063.8	1,095.7	1,104.3	1,106.7	42.9	4.0
Mining, logging, and construction	52.6	55.2	54.2	54.5	1.9	3.6
Manufacturing	80.2	82.3	84.8	83.5	3.3	4.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	216.7	220.2	223.3	229.4	12.7	5.9
Information	14.5	13.5	13.6	13.8	-0.7	-4.8
Financial activities	80.7	76.1	76.7	76.7	-4.0	-5.0
Professional and business services	185.4	194.4	195.8	198.2	12.8	6.9
Education and health services	156.4	159.0	160.5	157.5	1.1	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	88.8	107.3	106.5	104.3	15.5	17.5
Other services	41.0	40.7	41.1	41.1	0.1	0.2
Government	147.5	147.0	147.8	147.7	0.2	0.1
Kansas City, MO, portion
Total nonfarm	591.1	612.8	617.9	617.2	26.1	4.4
Mining, logging, and construction	30.6	32.2	30.9	31.9	1.3	4.2
Manufacturing	46.7	47.3	49.7	48.2	1.5	3.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	111.1	111.1	113.4	116.1	5.0	4.5
Information	8.3	7.5	7.5	7.6	-0.7	-8.4
Financial activities	42.2	40.4	40.6	40.5	-1.7	-4.0
Professional and business services	96.6	105.2	105.5	107.0	10.4	10.8
Education and health services	87.4	89.2	90.0	88.0	0.6	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	54.0	67.4	67.0	64.7	10.7	19.8
Other services	24.8	24.3	24.5	24.4	-0.4	-1.6
Government	89.4	88.2	88.8	88.8	-0.6	-0.7
Kansas City, KS, portion
Total nonfarm	472.7	482.9	486.4	489.5	16.8	3.6
Mining, logging, and construction	22.0	23.0	23.3	22.6	0.6	2.7
Manufacturing	33.5	35.0	35.1	35.3	1.8	5.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	105.6	109.1	109.9	113.3	7.7	7.3
Information	6.2	6.0	6.1	6.2	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	38.5	35.7	36.1	36.2	-2.3	-6.0
Professional and business services	88.8	89.2	90.3	91.2	2.4	2.7
Education and health services	69.0	69.8	70.5	69.5	0.5	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	34.8	39.9	39.5	39.6	4.8	13.8
Other services	16.2	16.4	16.6	16.7	0.5	3.1
Government	58.1	58.8	59.0	58.9	0.8	1.4
(p) Preliminary