In Kansas for June 2022, the labor force grew, the number of people working grew, and the unemployment rate rose, all compared to the previous month. While the monthly change for Kansas ranks well, over the year Kansas job growth was worst among the states.
Data released from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows an improving employment picture in Kansas for June 2022 when compared to the previous month, although the unemployment rate rose slightly.
Of special note this month: Considering year-over-year nonfarm job growth, Kansas had the lowest value in the nation, as it did last month.
(Click charts and tables for larger versions.)
Using seasonally adjusted data, from May 2022 to June 2022, nonfarm employment in Kansas rose by 4,600 jobs (0.3 percent). Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for June 2022 was higher by 20,800 (1.5 percent) over the same month last year. This is using seasonally adjusted data.
Over the year (June 2021 to June 2022), the Kansas labor force rose by 7,924 people (0.5 percent) using seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, with an increase of 1,605 (0.1 percent) over the last month.
There are now 125,500 (9.9 percent) more jobs in Kansas than in April 2020, which is the low point since the pandemic’s start. There are 31,900 (2.2 percent) fewer jobs than in February 2020, just before the pandemic. Considering employed people from the household survey, there are now 166,729 (12.8 percent) more working people in Kansas than in April 2020, and 18,194 (1.3 percent) more than in February 2020.
The number of unemployed persons fell from May 2022 to June 2022 by 737 persons (2.1 percent). The unemployment rate was 2.4 percent in June 2022, down from 3.5 percent last June and up slightly from 2.3 percent last month.
Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs is 1.51 percent higher than 12 months ago, while nationally, the same statistic is 4.31 percent higher. Non-seasonal data shows the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs is 2.00 percent higher than 12 months ago, while nationally, the same statistic is 4.23 percent higher.
To learn more about this data and what the employer and household surveys measure, see Visualization: Employment measures. Also, see Counting jobs in Kansas.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
Chart 3 shows job changes from the previous month, and we can see both positive and negative changes for Kansas over the past year.
Chart 4a shows job changes from the same month one year ago. The large increase from June 2020 (shortly after the start of the pandemic) to June 2021 is easily seen for both Kansas and the nation. Note that the rate for Kansas is always, and usually significantly, below the rate for the nation.
In Chart 5, which shows unemployment rates, we see that the rate in Kansas is lower than the national rate during the pandemic, as it had been before the pandemic. The unemployment rate in Kansas has been declining, although it rose by a small amount this month. The difference between the Kansas unemployment rate and the national rate is becoming smaller.
Chart 6 shows monthly changes in the labor force for Kansas and the nation. The Kansas labor force has both expanded and contracted since the pandemic, as has the national labor force. The monthly changes for both are mostly small over the year except for a large increase for the nation in January.
For industry groups, the following charts (7a and 7c) show the number of employees in various industries in June 2021 and June 2022.
Chart 7b uses the same data but shows the percent change from June 2021 to June 2022. These industry groups have significant gains:
- Leisure and Hospitality
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Mining and Logging
These groups declined in employment:
- Government
- Financial Activities
As mentioned earlier job growth in Kansas over the year has been lowest in the nation. The following chart shows the monthly and annual change in the number of jobs in the states, along with the rank of the state. The monthly change in Kansas ranked fifteenth among the states and District of Columbia.
The report for this month from the Kansas Department of Labor is here. The report from BLS may be found here. There has been no news release from Governor Kelly on this topic for this month.
