Employment in large counties, including Sedgwick County and others of interest.
The source of this data is the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an agency of the United States Department of Labor.
The nearby chart 5b shows employment for a quarter, the change from the previous quarter, and the change from the same quarter one year ago. This example shows data for the second quarter of 2023, which was released this week. (The second quarter is the months of April, May, and June.) The counties shown in this chart are of particular interest to Wichita and Sedgwick County. Some are nearby, while some are counties holding cities Wichita leaders visited as part of a city-to-city visit program. (Click charts for larger versions.)
Chart 5a is similar to 5b but covers a variable time span. The nearby example holds the same counties as above for starting in 2010 quarter one. It presents counties in order of percent change over this period.
Two examples of Chart 1 show that over the past year, Sedgwick County has performed well in job creation, but over a longer time period, lags behind its peers.
I asked ChatGPT about the data in Table 1, starting with first quarter 2021. This table holds data for the same counties that appear in the above charts.
To compare Sedgwick, KS with the other counties as a group, we’ll look at key metrics: Employment (Emp), Establishments (Est), and Wages (Wage). We’ll consider the overall trends and specific data points where Sedgwick, KS stands out.
- Employment (Emp):
Sedgwick, KS: Experienced an increase in employment from 305,500 in 2021 Q1 to 322,900 in 2023 Q2.
Other Counties: Most counties showed a consistent growth in employment. Notable high performers in employment growth include Bexar, TX and Oklahoma, OK, which showed significant increases. Sedgwick’s growth is moderate compared to these counties. - Establishments (Est):
Sedgwick, KS: Showed minor fluctuations in the number of establishments over the period.
Other Counties: Many counties, like Ada, ID and Durham, NC, exhibited steady and significant growth in the number of establishments. Compared to these, Sedgwick’s performance in establishment growth is relatively modest. - Wages (Wage):
Sedgwick, KS: Wages increased over the period, with some fluctuations.
Other Counties: Several counties displayed a general upward trend in wages, with some, like Ada, ID and Durham, NC, showing significant year-over-year wage growth. Sedgwick’s wage growth appears to be in line with the general trend but does not stand out as particularly high.
In summary, Sedgwick, KS shows moderate growth in employment and a relatively stable number of establishments with some fluctuations. Its wage growth is consistent but not exceptional when compared to the group. Counties like Ada, ID, and Durham, NC, exhibit more robust growth in several metrics, making Sedgwick’s performance appear moderate in comparison.
To learn more about this data and use this visualization, click on Visualization: Large County Employment, Establishments, and Wages.