Kansas City’s Unemployment Rate Sees Significant Drop in October

The Kansas City area’s unemployment rate fell one half of a percentage point between October and September (8.9 percent to 8.4 percent). This is the first decline in unemployment since April. This is certainly good news as we look to put this recession behind us, but the story behind the numbers is not all that rosy.
The unemployment rate declined because the labor force declined significantly (by 6,146) while employment declined only slightly (414). This means while the number of jobs available is stable, the number of people looking for work has declined. We would prefer to see the unemployment rate decline because the number of available jobs has increased more than the increase in labor force, but considering where we have been, a lower unemployment rate and an apparent end to the huge job loss numbers — for whatever reason — is at least something to feel positive about.

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Metro unemployment rates held a familiar pattern in October. The highest unemployment rates continued to be in the Southeast, Great Lakes region and in California and Oregon with the upper Midwest having the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

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The decline in unemployment rate that Kansas City experienced in October was not unique. Many metros across the country saw declines, especially in the New England states, upper Midwest and Michigan, where the recession has been particularly hard. The unemployment rate still increased between September and October in South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and many of the smaller metros in California.


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Compared to last year, all metros saw an increase in unemployment rates. Kansas City’s rate jumped from 6.0 percent in 2008 to the current 8.4 percent. This increase places Kansas City right in the middle in terms of unemployment rate change. The greatest increases in employment rates were seen in parts of the south, the Great Lakes area and the Pacific coast states. The Midwest and Northeastern states had smaller increases.