Total nonfarm employment for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area increased by 80,700 over the year in May, 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, 8.1 percent, compared to the 9.0-percent national increase. (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.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year net change for total nonfarm employment in the Kansas City metropolitan area, May 2018–May 2021

Period	Net change (in thousands)
May 2018	4.7
Jun 2018	8.5
Jul 2018	5.4
Aug 2018	6.7
Sep 2018	2.6
Oct 2018	6.3
Nov 2018	3.5
Dec 2018	3.8
Jan 2019	10.5
Feb 2019	3.8
Mar 2019	3.3
Apr 2019	10.5
May 2019	12.5
Jun 2019	7.4
Jul 2019	7.0
Aug 2019	9.3
Sep 2019	8.4
Oct 2019	10.4
Nov 2019	11.5
Dec 2019	13.7
Jan 2020	15.1
Feb 2020	15.3
Mar 2020	10.7
Apr 2020	-127.0
May 2020	-102.4
Jun 2020	-72.5
Jul 2020	-57.2
Aug 2020	-51.3
Sep 2020	-54.3
Oct 2020	-51.6
Nov 2020	-48.6
Dec 2020	-47.0
Jan 2021	-41.8
Feb 2021	-48.6
Mar 2021	-25.9
Apr 2021	100.8
May 2021	80.7

The Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 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 increased over the year in both portions of the metropolitan area. The Missouri portion, which accounts for approximately 56 percent of the area’s total nonfarm employment, gained 52,700 jobs, and the Kansas portion gained 28,000 jobs.

Industry employment

In the greater Kansas City area, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+28,700), with both portions of the metropolitan area recording increases from May 2020 to May 2021. (See chart 2.) Within the leisure and hospitality supersector, most of the gains were in accommodation and food services (+20,200). Gains in this subsector numbered 14,000 in the Missouri portion and 6,200 in the Kansas portion. The 38.9-percent increase in Kansas City’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 41.7-percent gain on a national level.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Kansas City metropolitan area, May 2021

Industry	Net change (in thousands)
Leisure and hospitality*	28.7
Professional and business services*	17.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities*	16.9
Education and health services*	5.8
Manufacturing*	4.8
Government	4.1
Other services	3.7
Mining, logging, and construction	1.4
Information	-0.6
Financial activities	-1.7
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Professional and business services employment increased by 17,600 over the year in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Most of the gains were on the Missouri side of the area, up 15,500.

The trade, transportation, and utilities sector gained 16,900 jobs over the year in the Kansas City metropolitan area with both portions of the area adding jobs. The Kansas portion gained 9,700 jobs and the Missouri portion gained 7,200 jobs. The 8.5-percent local rate of job gain compared to the 8.8-percent increase for the nation.

Education and health services gained 5,800 jobs over the year in the local area. The Kansas portion of the metropolitan area was responsible for the majority of the jobs gained in this industry, increasing by 3,100. The local area had a 3.8-percent increase compared to the 6.4-percent increase for the nation.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for June 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 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.