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News Release Information

19-1240-KAN
Thursday, July 11, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Kansas City Area Employment – May 2019

Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) stood at 1,116,500 in May 2019, up 19,700, or 1.8 percent, from May 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, nonfarm employment nationwide rose 1.5 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the Kansas City area has recorded over-the-year employment gains each month since September 2010. (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 56 percent of the area’s workforce, added 12,800 jobs (+2.1 percent) from May 2018 to May 2019, and the Kansas side added 6,900 jobs (+1.4 percent).

Government had the largest employment increase, adding 7,100 jobs since May 2018. The advance was largely attributable to a gain of 5,700 jobs in the Missouri portion of the metropolitan area. The 4.6-percent local rate of job growth exceeded the national increase of 0.4 percent over the year. Education and health services had the next largest employment increase, adding 6,500 jobs (+4.2 percent) from May 2018 to May 2019. The Missouri portion of the metropolitan area added 4,100 jobs while the Kansas portion gained 2,400.

Two additional supersectors added more than 4,500 jobs in the Kansas City area since May 2018. Manufacturing added 5,300 local jobs led by an increase of 4,100 jobs on the Missouri side of the area. The 7.2-percent rate of local employment growth for this supersector outpaced the national rate of 1.5 percent. Professional and business services, the area’s second largest supersector, added 4,700 jobs over the year. The increase was almost evenly split between the Kansas and Missouri portions, with gains of 2,500 and 2,200, respectively. The local area’s 2.4-percent rate of growth in this supersector was similar to the national gain of 2.3 percent.

Three Kansas City area supersectors lost jobs over the year:  financial activities (-3,300); trade, transportation, and utilities (-1,300); and information (-1,300). In the financial activities and information supersectors, almost all of the losses occurred in the Missouri portion (-3,200 and -1,000 jobs, respectively). The local job loss rate of 4.1 percent in financial activities was counter to the 1.1-percent increase for the nation. In the information sector, the 7.5-percent local rate of job loss compared to the 1.6-percent loss for the nation.

Metropolitan area employment data for June 2019 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, August 1, 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

May
2018
Mar
2019
Apr
2019
May
2019(p)
May 2018 to
May 2019(p)
Net changePercent change

United States

Total nonfarm

149,360149,864150,938151,6002,2401.5

Mining and logging

725746747754294.0

Construction

7,3367,1747,3807,5432072.8

Manufacturing

12,63612,77812,77812,8151791.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

27,54127,49127,55827,6921510.5

Information

2,8262,8032,7962,794-32-1.1

Financial activities

8,5418,5908,6078,635941.1

Professional and business services

20,94121,06721,33321,3934522.2

Education and health services

23,64624,20824,30824,2135672.4

Leisure and hospitality

16,55216,26016,57516,9654132.5

Other services

5,8665,8775,9255,955891.5

Government

22,75022,87022,93122,841910.4

Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA

Total nonfarm

1,096.81,092.21,107.71,116.519.71.8

Mining, logging, and construction

50.345.950.551.00.71.4

Manufacturing

73.678.578.478.95.37.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

215.6212.3213.5214.3-1.3-0.6

Information

17.416.116.216.1-1.3-7.5

Financial activities

80.477.276.577.1-3.3-4.1

Professional and business services

193.8192.8196.8198.54.72.4

Education and health services

154.9160.8161.4161.46.54.2

Leisure and hospitality

112.9105.9110.3114.11.21.1

Other services

42.742.442.742.80.10.2

Government

155.2160.3161.4162.37.14.6

Kansas City, MO, portion

Total nonfarm

612.9614.0621.8625.712.82.1

Mining, logging, and construction

29.227.629.729.60.41.4

Manufacturing

42.846.946.846.94.19.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

110.2109.5109.8110.30.10.1

Information

10.19.29.29.1-1.0-9.9

Financial activities

42.839.739.439.6-3.2-7.5

Professional and business services

99.799.7101.4101.92.22.2

Education and health services

86.689.390.490.74.14.7

Leisure and hospitality

69.265.267.669.60.40.6

Other services

25.825.625.825.80.00.0

Government

96.5101.3101.7102.25.75.9

Kansas City, KS, portion

Total nonfarm

483.9478.2485.9490.86.91.4

Mining, logging, and construction

21.118.320.821.40.31.4

Manufacturing

30.831.631.632.01.23.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

105.4102.8103.7104.0-1.4-1.3

Information

7.36.97.07.0-0.3-4.1

Financial activities

37.637.537.137.5-0.1-0.3

Professional and business services

94.193.195.496.62.52.7

Education and health services

68.371.571.070.72.43.5

Leisure and hospitality

43.740.742.744.50.81.8

Other services

16.916.816.917.00.10.6

Government

58.759.059.760.11.42.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, July 11, 2019