Kansas jobs, February 2020

Employment and the labor force rose in Kansas in February 2020 compared to the prior month, although employment growth was smaller.

Data released this week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows an improving picture for employment in Kansas for February 2020. (Click charts and tables for larger versions.)

Using seasonally adjusted data, from January 2020 to February 2020, nonfarm employment in Kansas rose by 1,600 (0.1 percent). Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for February 2020 rose by 14,700 (1.0 percent) over last February. This is using seasonally adjusted data. The non-adjusted figure is lower at 11,900 (0.8 percent).

Over the year (February 2019 to February 2020), the Kansas labor force is up by 14,697 (1.0 percent) using seasonally adjusted data, with an increase of 2,573 (0.2 percent) over the last month. Non-seasonal data shows an increase of 20,491 (1.4 percent) in the labor force over the year.

The number of unemployed persons fell from January 2020 to February 2020 by 57 (0.1 percent). The unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in February, down 0.2 percentage points from one year ago, and unchanged from January.

Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 1.04 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.60 percent. Non-seasonal data shows Kansas nonfarm jobs rising by 0.84 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs grew by 1.56 percent.

A note regarding recent layoffs

This data is for February 2020. Spirit Aerosytems announced layoffs that started January 22, according to news reports. The effect of these layoffs should realized in these statistics. 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.

The release for February 2020 holds some seasonally adjusted data for manufacturing employment in Kansas as follows (in thousands of jobs):

Feb 2019: 166.6
Dec 2019: 167.0
Jan 2020: 168.8
Feb 2020: 168.4

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 in two of the past three months.