Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) stood at 1,126,900 in November 2019, up 16,100, or 1.4 percent, over the year, 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 November marked the fourth consecutive month that 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 7,400 jobs (+1.2 percent) from November 2018 to November 2019, and the Kansas side added 8,700 jobs (+1.8 percent).

The education and health services supersector recorded the largest employment increase in the area, adding 7,100 jobs since November 2018. The advance was largely attributable to a gain of 5,900 jobs in the Missouri portion of the metropolitan area. The 4.5-percent local rate of job growth in education and health services exceeded the national increase of 2.9 percent over the year.

Government had the next largest employment increase, adding 6,600 jobs from November 2018 to November 2019. The Missouri portion of the metropolitan area added 4,900 jobs in the government sector while the Kansas portion gained 1,700 jobs. The 4.2-percent rate of growth in the local area was higher than the national growth rate of 0.7 percent for this supersector.

One additional supersector added more than 3,000 jobs in the Kansas City area since November 2018. Mining, logging, and construction, the area’s third smallest supersector, added 4,700 local jobs primarily due to an increase of 3,700 jobs in the Missouri portion of the area. This supersector recorded the fastest rate of employment growth in the area at 9.4 percent.

Three Kansas City area supersectors lost more than 1,000 jobs over the year: trade, transportation, and utilities (-3,800); manufacturing (-1,500); and information (-1,300). In the trade, transportation, and utilities sector, both portions of the metro area lost jobs. The Kansas portion (-2,800) lost more than twice the number of jobs as the Missouri portion (-1,000). In the manufacturing sector, all of the losses were on the Missouri side (-1,700). The local job loss rates in trade, transportation, and utilities (-1.7 percent) and information (-7.8 percent) were counter to the 0.4-percent gains for the each of these supersectors nationally.

Metropolitan area employment data for December 2019 are scheduled to be released on Friday, January 24, 2020, 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 nonfarm 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 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 www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. 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.

     The 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	Nov 2018	Sep 2019	Oct 2019	Nov 2019(p)	Nov 2018 to Nov 2019(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	151,375	152,016	153,002	153,624	2,249	1.5
Mining and logging	751	754	760	747	-4	-0.5
Construction	7,457	7,697	7,715	7,602	145	1.9
Manufacturing	12,783	12,884	12,819	12,862	79	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,387	27,703	27,914	28,500	113	0.4
Information	2,854	2,822	2,828	2,865	11	0.4
Financial activities	8,609	8,705	8,732	8,728	119	1.4
Professional and business services	21,444	21,625	21,825	21,869	425	2.0
Education and health services	24,089	24,349	24,652	24,784	695	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	16,182	16,922	16,806	16,601	419	2.6
Other services	5,859	5,933	5,945	5,942	83	1.4
Government	22,960	22,622	23,006	23,124	164	0.7
Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA
Total nonfarm	1,110.8	1,118.9	1,124.6	1,126.9	16.1	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	49.8	54.2	54.2	54.5	4.7	9.4
Manufacturing	78.1	76.2	74.6	76.6	-1.5	-1.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	222.7	213.2	214.9	218.9	-3.8	-1.7
Information	16.6	15.5	15.4	15.3	-1.3	-7.8
Financial activities	79.1	79.2	79.5	78.7	-0.4	-0.5
Professional and business services	197.2	199.2	200.0	199.1	1.9	1.0
Education and health services	159.2	164.1	165.2	166.3	7.1	4.5
Leisure and hospitality	107.2	111.9	113.6	109.9	2.7	2.5
Other services	42.7	42.6	43.0	42.8	0.1	0.2
Government	158.2	162.8	164.2	164.8	6.6	4.2
Kansas City, MO, portion
Total nonfarm	618.9	623.7	626.6	626.3	7.4	1.2
Mining, logging, and construction	29.0	32.2	32.2	32.7	3.7	12.8
Manufacturing	46.5	44.9	45.0	44.8	-1.7	-3.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	112.6	109.0	110.0	111.6	-1.0	-0.9
Information	9.5	8.8	8.7	8.6	-0.9	-9.5
Financial activities	41.3	40.9	40.8	40.8	-0.5	-1.2
Professional and business services	100.8	98.8	98.7	98.8	-2.0	-2.0
Education and health services	88.4	92.8	93.3	94.3	5.9	6.7
Leisure and hospitality	66.0	67.8	68.8	65.1	-0.9	-1.4
Other services	25.7	25.6	25.8	25.6	-0.1	-0.4
Government	99.1	102.9	103.3	104.0	4.9	4.9
Kansas City, KS, portion
Total nonfarm	491.9	495.2	498.0	500.6	8.7	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	20.8	22.0	22.0	21.8	1.0	4.8
Manufacturing	31.6	31.3	29.6	31.8	0.2	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	110.1	104.2	104.9	107.3	-2.8	-2.5
Information	7.1	6.7	6.7	6.7	-0.4	-5.6
Financial activities	37.8	38.3	38.7	37.9	0.1	0.3
Professional and business services	96.4	100.4	101.3	100.3	3.9	4.0
Education and health services	70.8	71.3	71.9	72.0	1.2	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	41.2	44.1	44.8	44.8	3.6	8.7
Other services	17.0	17.0	17.2	17.2	0.2	1.2
Government	59.1	59.9	60.9	60.8	1.7	2.9
Footnotes (p) Preliminary