Kansas jobs, April 2020

Employment fell sharply in Kansas in April 2020 as the response to the pandemic unfolded.

Data released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows the effect of the pandemic and the response to it on employment in Kansas for April 2020.

As explained in the March 2020 employment report, the effect of the pandemic was not fully realized in the March statistics because of the time when the data was collected. In Kansas, a stay-at-home order took effect on March 30, so its effect should be captured in the April data.

(Click charts and tables for larger versions.)

Using seasonally adjusted data, from March 2020 to April 2020, nonfarm employment in Kansas fell by 130,400 (9.2 percent). Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for April 2020 fell by 133,200 (9.3 percent) over the same month last year. This is using seasonally adjusted data. The non-adjusted figure is 134,700 (9.4 percent).

Over the year (April 2019 to April 2020), the Kansas labor force is up by 14,666 (1.0 percent) using seasonally adjusted data, with a decline of 11,661 (0.8 percent) over the last month. Non-seasonal data shows an increase of 22,707 (1.5 percent) in the labor force over the year.

The number of unemployed persons rose from March 2020 to April 2020 by 125,673 (294.7 percent). The unemployment rate was 11.2 percent in April, up 8.0 percentage points from one year ago, and up 8.4 from last month.

Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, Kansas nonfarm jobs fell by 9.34 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs fell by 12.92 percent. Non-seasonal data shows Kansas nonfarm jobs falling by 9.41 percent over the past 12 months, while national jobs fell by 12.87 percent.

Click charts and tables for larger versions.

In the following chart showing job changes from the previous month, the magnitude of the April change overwhelms the other months.

In the following chart of showing job changes from the same month one year ago, the April figures are much larger than any other.

The April release contained figures for industry groups. The following chart shows the number of employees in April 2019 and April 2020.

This chart uses the same data, showing the percent change from last April. Leisure and hospitality suffered the most, proportionally. Financial activities showed the smallest proportional loss, followed by government.