Airport traffic data presented in an interactive visualization, updated through 2020.
This visualization holds data from TranStats, a service of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which is the independent statistical agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). (more…)
Kansas has more state government employees per resident than most states, and the trend is rising. (more…)
The national jobs report for April underperformed expectations and the unemployment rate rose slightly. The March jobs figure was revised downward significantly.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, reported the closely-followed jobs number rose in April 2021 by 266,000 jobs from the prior month. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent. (more…)
For April 2021, Kansas tax revenue was 69.9 percent greater than April 2020. Over the ten months of the current fiscal year, revenue is 19.5 percent higher than at the same point of the previous year. There are caveats to consider. (more…)
How has Wichita fared since the start of the pandemic compared to other metropolitan areas?
(These examples are taken from my interactive visualization which holds data on all metropolitan areas in the nation. See Metro area employment and unemployment. It is updated through March 2021.)
The first chart shows Wichita and other Kansas metropolitan areas, as well as the total for all metropolitan areas. It shows changes in the number of jobs and the number of people in the labor force since the first month shown. It also shows the unemployment rate.
Click charts for larger versions.
As we can see, Wichita, in terms of employment, has done better than some, but also not as well as some.
A second chart shows Wichita along with some nearby metropolitan areas. Again, some have performed better than Wichita, and some not as well.
For comparison, here is the same chart of Wichita and the same metropolitan areas for the past 20 years. Wichita’s slow growth over these two decades is evident. Interestingly, Wichita has fared better since the start of the pandemic than some, notably Des Moines and Omaha as well as all U.S. metro areas.
As always, you may use the interactive visualization to create your own charts and tables. The link is above.
For the Wichita metropolitan area in March 2021, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is up, and the number of people working is down when compared to the same month one year ago. The recent trend is exhibiting only small changes.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows the effects of the response to the pandemic in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area for March 2021.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
Total nonfarm employment fell from 306,200 in March 2020 to 287,600 in March 2021, a loss of 18,600 jobs (6.1 percent). (This data is not seasonally adjusted, so month-to-month comparisons are not valid.) For the same period, employment in the nation fell by 4.4 percent. The unemployment rate in March 2021 was 5.3 percent, up from 3.9 percent the same month one year prior.
Considering seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, the labor force rose by 145 persons (0.0 percent) in March 2021 from February 2021, the number of unemployed persons fell by 83 (0.5 percent), and the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, unchanged from February. The number of employed persons not working on farms rose to 303,866 in March from 303,638 the prior month, an increase of 228 persons (0.1 percent).
The following chart of the monthly change in the labor force and employment in Wichita shows the magnitude of the drop in employment in April 2020 overwhelming other months, and then both positive and negative changes in employment for the following months. The rate of change is generally small except for October. The number of people in the labor force has both grown and shrank.
The following chart of changes from the same month one year ago shows a similar trend — fewer jobs, although the difference has become smaller as more people return to work.
The following chart of changes in employment from the same month of the previous year shows the Wichita MSA has mostly tracked the trend of the nation since the pandemic. In months affected by the pandemic, we see the initial loss in employment Wichita was not as severe as the nation. That is not the case in recent months.
The following chart shows the monthly change in nonfarm jobs for Wichita and the nation. Since September, the changes have been relatively small, with gains and losses.
The following two charts show changes in jobs for Wichita and the nation over longer periods. The change is calculated from the same month of the previous year. For times when the Wichita line was above the nation, Wichita was growing faster than the nation. This was often the case during the decades starting in 1990 and 2000. Since 2010, however, Wichita has only occasionally outperformed the nation and sometimes has been far below the nation.
(For data on all metropolitan areas in the nation, see my interactive visualization Metro area employment and unemployment. It is updated through March 2021.)
The link to the archived version of the BLS news release for this month may be found here.
For the Wichita metropolitan area in February 2021, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is up, and the number of people working is down when compared to the same month one year ago. The recent trend is more positive.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows the effects of the response to the pandemic in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area for February 2021.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
Total nonfarm employment fell from 306,700 in February 2020 to 282,300 in February 2021, a loss of 24,400 jobs (8.0 percent). (This data is not seasonally adjusted, so month-to-month comparisons are not valid.) For the same period, employment in the nation fell by 5.9 percent. The unemployment rate in February 2021 was 6.4 percent, up from 3.8 percent the same month one year prior.
Considering seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, the labor force fell by 212 persons (0.1 percent) in February 2021 from January 2021, the number of unemployed persons fell by 286 (1.4 percent), and the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, down from 6.4 percent in January. The number of employed persons not working on farms rose to 301,295 in February from 301,221 the prior month, an increase of 74 persons (0.0 percent).
The following chart of the monthly change in the labor force and employment in Wichita shows the magnitude of the drop in employment in April 2020 overwhelming other months, and then both positive and negative changes in employment for the following months. The rate of job growth is generally small except for October. The number of people in the labor force has both grown and shrank.
The following chart of changes from the same month one year ago shows a similar trend — fewer jobs, although the difference has become smaller as more people return to work.
The following chart of changes in employment from the same month of the previous year shows months when the Wichita MSA performed better than the nation before the pandemic. In months affected by the pandemic, we see the loss in employment Wichita has not been as severe as the nation, although that is not the case in recent months.
The following chart shows the monthly change in nonfarm jobs for Wichita and the nation. Since September, the changes have been relatively small, with gains and losses.
The following two charts show changes in jobs for Wichita and the nation over longer periods. The change is calculated from the same month of the previous year. For times when the Wichita line was above the nation, Wichita was growing faster than the nation. This was often the case during the decades starting in 1990 and 2000. Since 2010, however, Wichita has rarely outperformed the nation and sometimes has been far below the nation.
(For data on all metropolitan areas in the nation, see my interactive visualization Metro area employment and unemployment. It is updated through February 2021.)
The link to the archived version of the BLS news release for this month may be found here.
For March 2021, Kansas tax revenue was 12.7 percent greater than March 2020. Over the nine months of the current fiscal year, revenue is 14.0 percent higher than at the same point of the previous year. (more…)
Explore the economic record of presidents through the lens of data, with new views and updates.
To examine the record of presidents regarding economics, I gathered data from several sources and present it in an interactive visualization. Today the interactive visualization has been updated with current data and several new views. (more…)