Employment and the labor force rose in Kansas in January 2020 compared to the prior month. Kansas outperformed the nation in job growth the past two months.
Data released yesterday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows an improving picture for employment in Kansas for January 2020. (Click charts and tables for larger versions.)
Using seasonally adjusted data, from December 2019 to January 2020, nonfarm employment in Kansas rose by 2,900 (0.2 percent). Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for January 2020 rose by 9,900 (0.7 percent) over last January. This is using seasonally adjusted data. The non-adjusted figure is higher at 12,100 (0.9 percent).
Over the year (January 2019 to January 2020), the Kansas labor force is up by 12,015 (0.8 percent) using seasonally adjusted data, with an increase of 0.1 percent over the last month. Non-seasonal data shows an increase of 13,591 (0.9 percent) in the labor force over the year.
The number of unemployed persons fell from December 2019 to January 2020 by 173 (0.4 percent). The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in January, down 0.2 percentage points from one year ago, and unchanged from December.
Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 0.70 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.42 percent. Non-seasonal data shows Kansas nonfarm jobs rising by 0.86 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.51 percent.
A note regarding recent layoffs
This data is for January 2020. Spirit Aerosytems announced layoffs that started January 22, according to news reports. The effect of these layoffs is probably not realized in these statistics, because the data was gathered before the effective date of the layoffs. For employment data derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, also known as the payroll survey or the establishment survey, the estimate is for the pay period that includes the twelfth day of the month. For data from the Current Population Survey, which counts people, the estimate is for the “reference week,” which is usually the week that includes the twelfth day of the month.
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. The recent trend shows Kansas doing better, with the change growing.
In the following chart showing job changes from the previous month, Kansas has outperformed the nation in some months and has exceeded the national rate the past two months.
Photo credit Josh Redd
