Labor reports show dual dip in jobless rate

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Kansas and Missouri decreased in December, both falling to 3.3 percent. For Kansas, this was a shift from November’s 3.6 percent, while the Show-Me state ticked down from 3.5 percent.

“Kansas ended the year with sustained progress towards economic recovery in the state,” said Kansas Secretary Amber Shultz. “Estimates indicate that employers continued to add jobs in December and the unemployment rate declined to 3.3 percent.”

Seasonally adjusted job estimates show total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 800 from November, according to the Kansas Department of Labor. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 2,000 from the previous month, while government decreased by 1,200.

According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), Missouri’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment was 2,876,800 in December 2021, up by 16,700 from the revised November 2021 figure.

Missouri’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate increased in December 2021, raising one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.7 percent from the November 2021 not-seasonally-adjusted rate of 2.6 percent, according to MERIC. The corresponding not-seasonally-adjusted national rate for December 2021 was 3.7 percent.  

Since December 2020, Kansas seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 38,600. This change is due to an increase of 36,500 private sector jobs and 2,100 government jobs,” according to the Kansas Department of Labor. “Seasonally adjusted preliminary total nonfarm jobs estimates for November upward by 1,000 jobs, from 1,391,500 to 1,392,500. Seasonally adjusted private sector jobs were also revised upward by 1,500 jobs, from 1,142,300 to 1,143,800.