Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased by 49,500 over the year in February, 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 loss, 4.5 percent, compared to the 5.9-percent national decline. (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 Statistical Area is made up of two separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area—the Missouri portion and the Kansas portion of the MSA. Employment declined over the year in both portions of the metropolitan area. The Missouri portion, which accounts for almost 56 percent of the area’s total nonfarm employment, lost 28,900 jobs, while the Kansas portion lost 20,600 jobs.

Industry employment

In the greater Kansas City area, from February 2019 to February 2021, leisure and hospitality had the largest loss (-20,300), with both portions of the metropolitan area recording declines. (See chart 2.) Within the leisure and hospitality supersector, most of the losses were in accommodation and food services (-16,200). Losses in this subsector numbered 12,800 in the Missouri portion and 3,400 in the Kansas portion. The 18.7-percent decline in Kansas City’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 20.0-percent loss on a national level.

Education and health services lost 7,300 jobs over the year in the local area. The Missouri portion of the metropolitan area was responsible for the majority of the jobs lost in this industry, declining by 4,900. The local area had a 4.5-percent loss compared to the 5.2-percent decline for the nation.

Mining, logging, and construction employment declined by 4,600 jobs over the year in the Kansas City area. Most of the losses were on the Kansas side of the area, down 3,200 jobs of the total 4,600 jobs lost.

The information sector lost 1,900 jobs over the year in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Kansas portion of the area was responsible for the majority of the jobs lost, recording an over-the-year decline of 1,100 jobs. The 11.7-percent local rate of job loss compared to the 7.7-percent decline for the nation.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for March 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 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 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. 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/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.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.

     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	Feb 2020	Dec 2020	Jan 2021	Feb 2021(p)	Feb 2020 to Feb 2021(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	150,968	143,602	140,980	142,077	-8,891	-5.9
Mining and logging	675	602	593	584	-91	-13.5
Construction	7,278	7,312	7,067	7,006	-272	-3.7
Manufacturing	12,727	12,251	12,142	12,188	-539	-4.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,504	27,799	26,957	26,805	-699	-2.5
Information	2,894	2,668	2,648	2,670	-224	-7.7
Financial activities	8,820	8,788	8,733	8,734	-86	-1.0
Professional and business services	21,134	20,638	20,291	20,442	-692	-3.3
Education and health services	24,668	23,400	23,105	23,393	-1,275	-5.2
Leisure and hospitality	16,292	12,896	12,576	13,037	-3,255	-20.0
Other services	5,882	5,448	5,415	5,453	-429	-7.3
Government	23,094	21,800	21,453	21,765	-1,329	-5.8
Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA
Total nonfarm	1,093.5	1,067.8	1,052.4	1,044.0	-49.5	-4.5
Mining, logging, and construction	50.8	52.9	48.4	46.2	-4.6	-9.1
Manufacturing	81.8	79.5	80.8	77.5	-4.3	-5.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	215.6	221.2	216.9	214.2	-1.4	-0.6
Information	16.2	14.5	14.3	14.3	-1.9	-11.7
Financial activities	80.0	79.7	78.1	77.2	-2.8	-3.5
Professional and business services	185.8	189.2	184.8	184.8	-1.0	-0.5
Education and health services	162.2	156.0	154.4	154.9	-7.3	-4.5
Leisure and hospitality	108.4	87.5	88.2	88.1	-20.3	-18.7
Other services	42.4	40.8	40.7	40.6	-1.8	-4.2
Government	150.3	146.5	145.8	146.2	-4.1	-2.7
Kansas City, MO, portion
Total nonfarm	610.1	593.8	585.6	581.2	-28.9	-4.7
Mining, logging, and construction	29.2	31.2	28.4	27.8	-1.4	-4.8
Manufacturing	46.4	45.9	47.2	45.3	-1.1	-2.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	111.2	113.7	110.0	108.7	-2.5	-2.2
Information	9.0	8.3	8.2	8.2	-0.8	-8.9
Financial activities	41.5	41.8	41.0	40.1	-1.4	-3.4
Professional and business services	98.3	99.7	99.8	100.7	2.4	2.4
Education and health services	90.3	87.1	85.3	85.4	-4.9	-5.4
Leisure and hospitality	67.3	52.6	52.9	52.3	-15.0	-22.3
Other services	25.6	24.6	24.5	24.3	-1.3	-5.1
Government	91.3	88.9	88.3	88.4	-2.9	-3.2
Kansas City, KS, portion
Total nonfarm	483.4	474.0	466.8	462.8	-20.6	-4.3
Mining, logging, and construction	21.6	21.7	20.0	18.4	-3.2	-14.8
Manufacturing	35.4	33.6	33.6	32.2	-3.2	-9.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	104.4	107.5	106.9	105.5	1.1	1.1
Information	7.2	6.2	6.1	6.1	-1.1	-15.3
Financial activities	38.5	37.9	37.1	37.1	-1.4	-3.6
Professional and business services	87.5	89.5	85.0	84.1	-3.4	-3.9
Education and health services	71.9	68.9	69.1	69.5	-2.4	-3.3
Leisure and hospitality	41.1	34.9	35.3	35.8	-5.3	-12.9
Other services	16.8	16.2	16.2	16.3	-0.5	-3.0
Government	59.0	57.6	57.5	57.8	-1.2	-2.0
Footnotes (p) Preliminary