KC metro JOBS (general KC economy thread)

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earthling
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KC metro JOBS (general KC economy thread)

Post by earthling »

A friend who works for a MO job placement agency and tracks MO wide jobs says KC has seen a huge increase in job postings in just the last few weeks, much more than last Spring. Checked careerbuilder.com (claims to be the largest curated job site) and indeed there is a big increase. Not as huge a jump as hot metros but more than many markets larger than KC. The site doesn't list all jobs out there as it shows only those posted in last 30 days, the jump and comparison to other cities is interesting and generally lines up with what MO agency sees.

KC 4663 job postings as of last search, 4.4 ratio of jobs/labor force

STL 4009 2.8
San Diego 3814 2.6
Orlando 4152 4.0
Pittsburgh 3246 2.6
Portland 2993 2.5
San Antonio 3110 3.1
Columbus 3630 3.8
Cincy 4658 4.2
Charlotte 4462 4.8

More jobs than KC but lower jobs/labor force ratio
Denver 6023 3.7
Dallas 11,746 3.7
Tampa 4903 3.7
Minneapolis 7023 3.8
Atlanta 8879 3.2

As expected Houston and DC are hot markets.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Jobseeker/ ... =Find+Jobs

KCMO has most jobs in metro by city, KS and MO side pretty much even split on jobs - though this site only hits a portion of what is out there.
Last edited by earthling on Wed Jan 29, 2014 9:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

Chatted again with the friend who tracks jobs for MO state agency and he said they are getting even a faster rate of jobs coming in, faster than they can place people. He said more people are job hopping too, who were underemployed when economy tanked - better jobs are now showing up across the board. Also said temp/part time jobs are ahead of last year but full time jobs growing at much faster rate.

Checked careerbuilder compared to 2 weeks ago (above) and KC is up to about 4870 jobs according that site, outpacing all the other listed cities in growth the last couple of weeks. Simplyhired shows a whopping 50K jobs for KC (47K two weeks ago) but there are many duplicates and a good chunk really aren't based in listed city, probably 10K-15K or so are unique and actually based in KC area. Even so, shows bigger increase than most other cities compared to two weeks ago.

Given that KC's jobs/labor force ratio appears to be higher than most cities, it means you may have less competition for a specific job than in other markets.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by flyingember »

earthling wrote:
Given that KC's jobs/labor force ratio appears to be higher than most cities, it means you may have less competition for a specific job than in other markets.
this has also bumped pay rates up

There's two notable urban items helping this.
1. the government. moving downtown will change the jobs dynamic. every job that results from having people downtown will benefit
2. Cerner. they're not moving, they're moving people. So once they populate in KCK this means empty seats at their NKC campus to fill. The NKC campus will drive more KC resident hiring and KCK will drive more Lenexa, KCK resident hiring.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

Construction jobs in KC haven't at all recovered since the economy hit but now it looks like it will start gaining momentum too, at least some...

http://m.kansascity.com/kcstar/db_1156/ ... &pn=0&ps=3
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

So if careerbuilder.com is a reliable sample, KC is still adding job postings faster than larger markets. It shows KC now at >5100 job postings, about 500 higher than first post a few weeks ago. Larger markets like Dallas, Denver, MSP, Atlanta are only a few hundred higher. Simplyhired also shows similar rate of increase. Though it could mean KC is having troubles filling positions so jobs are stockpiling.

Either way, good time to look for a job in KC - possibly fewer to compete with for same job compared to other markets.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

After the jump in job postings that showed up in job sites last couple of months, here's the impact according to May BLS data...

Biggest increase is in Professional Services employment. KC gained back 20K jobs since bottoming out in 2009 and has over 10K more Pro jobs since the 2008 peak. KC is doing as well as Denver and MSP, which also increased by 10K jobs each since last peak. So KC proportionally grew more Pro jobs than those two per cap (KC on par with Atlanta per cap). Most other markets are below 2008 level, except hottest job markets.

KC Professional and Biz Services, change over 10 years
Image


KC's Financial jobs didn't take a big hit but are at least higher than last peak, not the case for many metros.

Image

Leisure and Hospitality jobs have also increased, on par with most markets...
Image

KC is still taking a hit with blue collar and govt jobs. Information jobs are starting to inch its way back up after a massive hit (as with all telcom cities) - likely to improve with massive Sprint investment. Since KC has more Fed jobs than most metros and is losing more than avg, the overall job market isn't exactly hot overall. KC is clearly hot with white collar jobs though, apparently more open jobs than qualified people to fill them.

Some other interesting stats (May data)...
% of Pro/Biz Services employment relative to labor force: Den 16.4%, KC 15.5%, MSP 15%, STL 13.4%
% of Finance employment relative to labor force: MSP 7.5%, KC 7.2%, Den 6.6%, STL 6.1%
% of Pro/Finance/Info employment to labor force: Den: 25.7%, KC 25.5%, MSP 24.5%, ATL 24.4%, DFW 24.2%, STL 21.6%, Austin 20%

The last stat basically says KC has 1 in 4 people in white collar industries, on par with most other hot job markets. KC is avg for service industry, below avg for blue collar jobs and taking a bigger hit with govt jobs.

BLS source:
http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.mo_kansascity_msa.htm
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

June BLS data is out, pretty much the same story (shows over 10 years). KC is doing well increasing white collar jobs (comparable to DEN, ATL and MSP), it's the blue collar and govt jobs that are holding KC back from getting back to normal.

Pro/Business Services jobs growing fastest in KC metro since 2009, and above US avg...
Image

Finance jobs increasing, a little better than US avg.
Image

Leisure and Hospitality jobs are increasing, but pretty much on par with rest of US...
Image

Govt jobs going downhill partly because KC has higher % of Fed jobs than other markets, it hurts KC overall growth ...
Image

Construction jobs not returning...
Image

Manufacturing not returning either despite KC auto industry doing well..
Image

Overall jobs still increasing but Govt/Blue Collar jobs are keeping KC from getting back to normal. KC is still above US avg for job growth in last few years. Many cities are still below 10 years ago, at least KC is approaching 2008 level. Only a few hot economy markets are above the 2008 level.
Image

Source:
http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.mo_kansascity_msa.htm
Last edited by earthling on Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:29 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by kboish »

I'm surprised construction jobs aren't recovering yet. It seems like construction projects are ramping up throughout the metro. I guess thats just how bloated the market was pre-2008
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

^Yeah, with housing permits jumping up and and more projects popping up around the core than we've seen in 5 years, it would seem it should be higher. There may be a lag in reporting and may not show up until next month. The other thing to consider is that BLS data is a 'poll' of only a portion of employers, not a real count of every job but you'd think it would show a relative increase for construction jobs by now.

According to friend in MO job placement agency, blue collar and labor job openings are increasing but it's difficult finding qualified people to fill them (ie, not on drugs or requires special skill).
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by FangKC »

Mike Rowe (from TV's "Dirty Jobs") was on Real Time with Bill Maher about two weeks ago, and he said there are millions of blue collar jobs available for things like doing maintenance on machinery and such.

He says the problem is that we are encouraging everyone to get a 4-year college education as the standard, so people aren't encouraged anymore to do blue collar jobs -- even if they pay very well. He said that maintenance jobs for Caterpillar equipment pays over $100,000 a year after two years of job experience. He said there was too much emphasis on high tech jobs, and that not everyone is suited for them anyway. You have to provide education and training for people with all sorts of skill sets.

They did bring up the drug testing thing as well. Companies that require drug testing of all employees are cutting out a large pool of job applicants.

There does seem to be a double standard with drug testing. For example, people who smoke a little weed on the weekends are punished with drug testing. Yet, one can get drunk as hell every weekend and you aren't punished. It also creates two classes of substance users. One can be a functional alcoholic and work, but if you smoke some weed over the weekend--once in awhile, and a drug test is administered, you are screwed.

There is also no punishment for prescription drug abusers, who can claim their drug use is legal because they can get a physician to prescribe. Prescription drug abuse is far more common among Americans now than illicit drug use.

Certainly no employer wants staff working while under the influence of drugs. However, pot smokers are punished while alcohol users aren't. If the goal was employees who aren't impaired at work, shouldn't alcohol breath tests also be administered?

My point is that in all my professional life, I was more likely to encounter someone who was "half-in-the-bag" at work, or hung-over from the night before, than almost anything else causing impairment.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

Yeah, the lack of KC blue collar employment returning reflects US average even though job openings appear to be there. But it's the Fed job loss that is keeping KC from being in upper tier recovery along with the hot economy markets. KC white collar job increases are right up there with the hottest markets.

More strict drug testing may be part of the hiring problem but the reality is there are a lot of people who were laid off since 2008, a good too many got hooked on meth or worse and are no longer functional/employable. Another big chunk got used to unemployment checks, tried another job that ended up not being much more pay so get fired to get back on unemployment and not have to do a thing every 6 months (I know of someone exploiting this). This is a US problem and KC has it too - the Feds need to fix that with stricter rules for unemployment benefits.

Crime could be reduced if more could get a job but some are on such a downward spiral that even though the jobs are there they cannot get back to functioning in a society, or don't want to.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

This site is supposedly tops for finding salaried/contract construction industry jobs and KC does show quite a few compared to other markets (though general job sites show a lot more for all markets and KC not topping list for others)...

http://constructionjobs.com/jobseeker/S ... ted+States

KC 301
STL 126
Denver 197
MSP 124

Most lower entry or hourly wage jobs are likely found through day labor agencies rather than websites like this but this does give an indication KC construction industry is picking up - still small potatoes compared to other industries.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

KCBJ lists largest public/private employers and growth over last year..

Public: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/s ... oyers.html

The Feds are KC area's largest employer and dwarfs others with 27,500 employees. KC is doing well growing white collar jobs but given the Feds are by far largest single employer, the cuts from sequester are preventing KC from keeping up with the hot economy markets.

Private: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/s ... oyers.html

Cerner passed up Sprint in the last year with local employment. Cerner 8300, Sprint 7600. Though with Softbank investing many $B into Sprint, jobs could start growing again. Healthcare otherwise dominates of the larger employers. Surprising to see Hallmark with a lot more jobs over last year, the list claims they've added more jobs than the engineering companies.

Simplyhired.com is showing these companies have most job postings.
Burns & Mcdonnell 902
Supplemental Health Care 894
Pizza Hut 891 (KC only has one fast food in top 10, most metros have several)
Cerner 786
Varsity Tutors 723
Saint Luke's Health System 703
Sprint 574 (finally hiring again at a pretty good pace)
HCA 560

Top jobs in health and tech/engineering. Most markets that are not exactly considered hot economy markets (like STL and rustbelt cities) show retail/fastfood as top job growth.

Careerbuilder.com shows a big jump in KC postings compared to last few months, over 5700. Simplyhired.com also shows a big jump since first post - many are duplicate postings but KC still shows many more job postings than several markets larger than KC.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

July BLS data is out. Views pattern of last 10 years.

Pro/Biz services jobs continue to climb, above US avg...
Image

Construction jobs just now showing sign of improvement, should pick up as more announced projects break ground...
Image

Leisure/Hospitality jobs hugely jumped, but so did rest of US...
Image

Govt jobs dumping, especially since KC has higher % Fed jobs than other markets...
Image

Info, Health/Edu, Finance somewhat flat to minor improvement. Manufacturing still low but showing signs of improving.

Overall KC metro is about to hit 2008 peak, only the hottest job markets are at or above 2008 peak, most are much below or even below 10 years ago. KC could be closer to peak if it weren't for dump of Fed jobs. All the announced projects will help return of construction jobs...
Image

Simplyhired shows these are the companies with most KC job board postings (excluding temp jobs). Many major cities show bigger chunk of fast food/retail jobs in top 10, KC is health/engineering/tech.

Cerner 848
Saint Luke's Health System 760
Supplemental Health Care 737
Burns & Mcdonnell 620
Pizza Hut 566
Truman Medical Centers 433
HCA 420
Sprint 410
Kiewit 395

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/ ... -job_board
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by flyingember »

the construction jobs coming soon are good ones too for long-term

two examples-
the streetcar will provide full time jobs in operations and maintenance and management
a 25-story tower needs staff for everything that can go wrong. a single person can handle 20 units. This has 300 units so I'd bet they'll hire ~10 people.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

Found a way to query MO side stats vs rest of metro and is interesting to see what % of industry jobs MO has vs rest of metro. This lists industries employing the jobs in MO side, not the residential employment of KCMO. July data.

First number is MO side only, second number is KC Metro (including MO).

Total Employment - KCMO 558K, Metro 1010K - 55% of metro jobs are in MO
Pro Biz/Services - 81K, 165K - 49%
Pro/Sci/Tech Services - 41K, 77K - 53%
Information - 14K, 30K - 46% (half of metro is telcom in JoCo)
Financial - 42K, 75K - 56%
Manufacturing - 38K, 72K - 52%
Retail - 57K, 102K - 56%
Leisure/Hospitality - 69K, 111K - 62%
Construction - 23K, 42K - 55%
Hospitals - 19K, 35K - 54%

http://data.bls.gov/pdq/querytool.jsp?survey=sm
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by flyingember »

I always had this hunch that the 1% tax was forced onto the ballot by someone who thought it would go down in flames.

but KC residents know what's good for them. people can see how many KC residents drive into Kansas, even someone who does poorly in school isn't so stupid as to not notice that. The city residents want lots of big ticket items like street repairs and public safety. They were going to keep the revenue to fund them.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

Can see why KCMO keeps the 1% income tax.

KCMO's sprawl has the obvious downsides but the upside is that it can offer various scales of suburban/urban even exurban/rural space to businesses and keep a good chunk of metro jobs (especially with opportunities in airport area and now Cerner/Oxford Blue/Stower campus). Most city cores have no suburban element and are losing bigger chunk jobs to surrounding suburban cities.
Last edited by earthling on Fri Dec 06, 2013 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

flyingember wrote:the construction jobs coming soon are good ones too for long-term

two examples-
the streetcar will provide full time jobs in operations and maintenance and management
a 25-story tower needs staff for everything that can go wrong. a single person can handle 20 units. This has 300 units so I'd bet they'll hire ~10 people.
Residential construction is up 20% in July (45% YTD), overall construction up 10%. Should reflect in job count by next month. Non-residential construction jobs will kick into gear next year with the big projects announced.

http://m.kansascity.com/kcstar/db_10892 ... &pn=0&ps=5
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Re: KC metro jump in JOBS

Post by earthling »

double post
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