Wichita jobs and employment, June 2019

For the Wichita metropolitan area in June 2019, the labor force is up, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is down, and the number of people working is up when compared to the same month one year ago. Seasonal data shows declines in labor force and jobs from May.

Data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows a slowing employment situation for the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Click charts and tables for larger versions.

Total nonfarm employment rose from 297,300 last June to 302,600 this June. That’s an increase of 5,300 jobs, or 1.8 percent. (This data is not seasonally adjusted, so month-to-month comparisons are not valid.) For the same period, employment in the nation grew by 1.5 percent. The unemployment rate in June 2019 was 3.6 percent, down from 4.1 percent one year ago.

Considering seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, the labor force fell by 317 persons (0.1 percent) in June 2019 from May 2019, the number of unemployed persons fell by 269 (2.3 percent), and the unemployment rate was down to 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent in May. The number of employed persons not working on farms fell to 299,144 in June from 299,192 the prior month, a decline of 47 persons, or 0.0 percent.

The following chart of the monthly change in labor force and employment shows a general decline over the past year, then three consecutive months of losses for both measures.

The following chart of changes from the same month one year ago shows six consecutive months of decline in the rate of growth of both employment and labor force. The values are growing, but at a slower pace each month since January.