Employment fell and the labor force rose, both by small amounts, in Kansas in October 2019 compared to the prior month. Kansas continues to perform well in year-over-year growth when compared to the nation.
Data released last week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows a mostly improving picture for employment in Kansas for October 2019. (Click charts and tables for larger versions.)
Using seasonally adjusted data, from September 2019 to October 2019, nonfarm employment in Kansas fell by 500, which rounds to 0.0 percent. Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for Ovtober 2019 rose by 18,100 or 1.3 percent over last October. This is using seasonally adjusted data. The non-adjusted figure is nearly the same at 18,600, also 1.3 percent.
Over the year (October 2018 to October 2019), the Kansas labor force is up by 2,554 (0.2 percent) using seasonally adjusted data, with an increase of 0.3 percent over the last month. Non-seasonal data shows an increase of 14,529 (1.0 percent) in the labor force over the year.
The number of unemployed persons fell from September 2019 to October 2019 by 156, or 0.3 percent. The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in October, down 0.2 percentage points from one year ago, and down by 0.1 percentage points from August.
Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 1.27 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.40 percent. Non seasonal data shows Kansas nonfarm jobs rising by 1.30 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.40 percent.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
In the following chart of showing job changes from the same month one year ago, Kansas is always below the national rate, although for September 2019 Kansas nearly met the national rate. The recent trend shows Kansas doing well compared to the nation.
In the following chart showing job changes from the previous month, Kansas has outperformed the nation in some months, but has fallen slightly recently.
