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News Release Information

23-2086-KAN
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

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

Kansas City Area Employment — August 2023

Total nonfarm employment for Kansas City, MO-KS, increased by 20,400 over the year in August, 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, 1.8 percent, compared to the 2.0-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. Kansas City, MO, which accounted for 56 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, gained 17,700 jobs over the year for an employment level of 643,400 jobs in August. Employment in Kansas City, KS, with 44 percent of the area’s employment, stood at 496,000.

Industry employment

In Kansas City, MO-KS, education and health services had the largest gain (+8,200) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors, with the Missouri portion reporting most of the increase (+5,700). (See chart 2.) Within this supersector, the health care and social assistance sector added 5,300 jobs in the metropolitan area. The 5.1 percent increase in the metropolitan area’s education and health services compared to the 4.2 percent gain on a national level.

 

Manufacturing lost 4,400 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area, with the Missouri portion reporting most of that decrease (-4,100). The metropolitan area had a 5.1-percent loss in manufacturing compared to the 0.7 percent gain on a national level.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for September 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

2023 Preliminary Benchmark Revision to Establishment Survey Data released on August 23, 2023

Each year, Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). These counts are derived from state unemployment insurance (UI) tax records that nearly all employers are required to file. As part of the benchmark process for benchmark year 2023, census-derived employment counts replace CES payroll employment estimates for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions for the period from April 2022 to September 2023.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released first-quarter 2023 data from the QCEW on August 23, 2023. Preliminary benchmark revisions for March 2023 for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and selected metropolitan areas at the total nonfarm level are available. The final benchmark revision for all state and metropolitan area series will be issued with the publication of the January 2024 State Employment and Unemployment news release in March 2024.


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. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

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

Aug
2022
Jun
2023
Jul
2023
Aug
2023(p)
Aug 2022 to
Aug 2023(p)
Net change Percent change

United States

Total nonfarm

153,285 156,905 156,034 156,302 3,017 2.0

Mining and logging

619 648 652 650 31 5.0

Construction

7,992 8,141 8,188 8,202 210 2.6

Manufacturing

12,962 13,058 13,039 13,059 97 0.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,640 28,816 28,786 28,737 97 0.3

Information

3,126 3,102 3,088 3,066 -60 -1.9

Financial activities

9,121 9,181 9,223 9,209 88 1.0

Professional and business services

22,795 23,070 23,056 23,096 301 1.3

Education and health services

24,222 25,102 25,114 25,238 1,016 4.2

Leisure and hospitality

16,614 17,294 17,392 17,312 698 4.2

Other services

5,779 5,939 5,941 5,930 151 2.6

Government

21,415 22,554 21,555 21,803 388 1.8

Kansas City, MO-KS, MSA

Total nonfarm

1,119.0 1,155.7 1,150.4 1,139.4 20.4 1.8

Mining, logging, and construction

59.2 62.5 62.8 62.3 3.1 5.2

Manufacturing

85.6 87.7 87.0 81.2 -4.4 -5.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

225.1 226.5 225.7 225.2 0.1 0.0

Information

16.6 16.9 16.9 16.9 0.3 1.8

Financial activities

78.0 81.4 80.9 80.1 2.1 2.7

Professional and business services

193.9 197.6 198.1 194.7 0.8 0.4

Education and health services

160.8 167.0 168.3 169.0 8.2 5.1

Leisure and hospitality

114.7 122.3 121.2 120.0 5.3 4.6

Other services

44.4 45.3 45.3 45.1 0.7 1.6

Government

140.7 148.5 144.2 144.9 4.2 3.0

Kansas City, MO, portion

Total nonfarm

625.7 652.6 649.2 643.4 17.7 2.8

Mining, logging, and construction

35.1 37.4 37.1 37.0 1.9 5.4

Manufacturing

50.5 52.8 52.1 46.4 -4.1 -8.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

116.4 118.0 118.1 117.6 1.2 1.0

Information

8.9 9.3 9.3 9.2 0.3 3.4

Financial activities

43.5 47.0 47.1 46.5 3.0 6.9

Professional and business services

100.6 104.1 103.4 102.4 1.8 1.8

Education and health services

87.6 91.2 91.7 93.3 5.7 6.5

Leisure and hospitality

70.4 76.0 75.5 75.3 4.9 7.0

Other services

26.5 27.4 27.4 27.2 0.7 2.6

Government

86.2 89.4 87.5 88.5 2.3 2.7

Kansas City, KS, portion

Total nonfarm

493.3 503.1 501.2 496.0 2.7 0.5

Mining, logging, and construction

24.1 25.1 25.7 25.3 1.2 5.0

Manufacturing

35.1 34.9 34.9 34.8 -0.3 -0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

108.7 108.5 107.6 107.6 -1.1 -1.0

Information

7.7 7.6 7.6 7.7 0.0 0.0

Financial activities

34.5 34.4 33.8 33.6 -0.9 -2.6

Professional and business services

93.3 93.5 94.7 92.3 -1.0 -1.1

Education and health services

73.2 75.8 76.6 75.7 2.5 3.4

Leisure and hospitality

44.3 46.3 45.7 44.7 0.4 0.9

Other services

17.9 17.9 17.9 17.9 0.0 0.0

Government

54.5 59.1 56.7 56.4 1.9 3.5

(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023