Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS, metropolitan area increased by 28,700 over the year in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job gain, 2.6 percent, compared to the 2.9-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 greater metropolitan area—the Missouri portion and the Kansas portion. Employment rose over the year in both portions of the metropolitan area. Employment increased over the year in both portions of the metropolitan area.  Kansas City, MO, which accounted for 56 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, gained 17,700 jobs, while Kansas City, KS, gained 11,000 jobs.

Industry employment

In Kansas City, MO-KS, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+7,200) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) The Missouri portion’s employment level in this supersector stood at 66,800 jobs, and the Kansas portion’s employment level stood at 42,700. The 7.0-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 6.6-percent gain on a national level.

Education and health services gained 5,300 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. Within this supersector, the health care and social assistance sector added 4,400 jobs in the metropolitan area. The 3.3-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 4.3-percent gain on a national level.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for March 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

Technical Note

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 2022 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 estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to compensate for smaller sample sizes.

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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available in the CES State and Area benchmark article.

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 totals shown in the same tables due to 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. Reliability of state and area estimates for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

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 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties in Missouri and 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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 2022	Dec 2022	Jan 2023	Feb 2023(p)	Feb 2022 to Feb 2023(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	149,606	155,344	152,836	153,955	4,349	2.9
Mining and logging	574	626	622	622	48	8.4
Construction	7,349	7,763	7,549	7,613	264	3.6
Manufacturing	12,600	12,988	12,891	12,921	321	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,294	29,506	28,749	28,635	341	1.2
Information	2,974	3,139	3,050	3,044	70	2.4
Financial activities	8,931	9,132	9,049	9,047	116	1.3
Professional and business services	22,086	22,907	22,474	22,630	544	2.5
Education and health services	24,078	24,960	24,749	25,111	1,033	4.3
Leisure and hospitality	14,864	15,947	15,638	15,844	980	6.6
Other services	5,588	5,778	5,741	5,767	179	3.2
Government	22,268	22,598	22,324	22,721	453	2.0
Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA
Total nonfarm	1,091.8	1,135.4	1,123.2	1,120.5	28.7	2.6
Mining, logging, and construction	53.6	57.7	56.8	56.3	2.7	5.0
Manufacturing	82.3	86.5	86.2	85.4	3.1	3.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	224.8	234.6	227.6	227.1	2.3	1.0
Information	16.6	16.9	16.9	16.8	0.2	1.2
Financial activities	77.8	79.9	78.7	79.0	1.2	1.5
Professional and business services	187.7	193.9	192.0	190.9	3.2	1.7
Education and health services	158.7	164.8	165.6	164.0	5.3	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	102.3	109.8	109.0	109.5	7.2	7.0
Other services	42.6	45.0	45.0	44.8	2.2	5.2
Government	145.4	146.3	145.4	146.7	1.3	0.9
Kansas City, MO, portion
Total nonfarm	609.5	633.9	628.3	627.2	17.7	2.9
Mining, logging, and construction	31.6	34.3	33.3	33.1	1.5	4.7
Manufacturing	47.9	51.4	51.8	51.0	3.1	6.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	116.4	121.3	118.6	118.2	1.8	1.5
Information	8.9	9.4	9.4	9.3	0.4	4.5
Financial activities	43.1	45.7	44.8	45.1	2.0	4.6
Professional and business services	97.5	99.3	98.3	98.2	0.7	0.7
Education and health services	87.8	90.9	91.4	90.5	2.7	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	62.8	66.5	65.9	66.8	4.0	6.4
Other services	25.4	27.0	27.0	26.9	1.5	5.9
Government	88.1	88.1	87.8	88.1	0.0	0.0
Kansas City, KS, portion
Total nonfarm	482.3	501.5	494.9	493.3	11.0	2.3
Mining, logging, and construction	22.0	23.4	23.5	23.2	1.2	5.5
Manufacturing	34.4	35.1	34.4	34.4	0.0	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	108.4	113.3	109.0	108.9	0.5	0.5
Information	7.7	7.5	7.5	7.5	-0.2	-2.6
Financial activities	34.7	34.2	33.9	33.9	-0.8	-2.3
Professional and business services	90.2	94.6	93.7	92.7	2.5	2.8
Education and health services	70.9	73.9	74.2	73.5	2.6	3.7
Leisure and hospitality	39.5	43.3	43.1	42.7	3.2	8.1
Other services	17.2	18.0	18.0	17.9	0.7	4.1
Government	57.3	58.2	57.6	58.6	1.3	2.3
(p) Preliminary