e-connection (September 2011 Edition, Vol. 6, No. 9)

Not Too Late to Register

On Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, the Center for Economic Development and Business Research, W. Frank Barton School of Business, Wichita State University, will host the 32nd Annual Wichita Area Economic Outlook Conference in the Century II Convention Hall from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $125, and breakfast is included.

To see the agenda for the conference, click here.

To make reservations, call 316-978-3225, or click here.

CEDBR Releases the Kansas 2012 Outlook

The Kansas unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in July 2011. This continues the general decline in unemployment rates that began after reaching a peak of 8.2 percent in July 2009. Much of the decline was due to a decrease in the number of active participants in the labor force, not from gains in employment. As of this writing, Kansas employment is on track to decrease 0.5 percent in 2011, after declining 1.5 percent in 2010. In 2012, Kansas employment is projected to increase 1.1 percent, gaining approximately 15,000 jobs.

To read the complete 2012 forecast for Kansas, click here.

Wichita Residents Are More Miserable than Other Kansas Residents

The Misery Index indicates that people in the United States, as a whole, continue to be more miserable than people in Kansas or Wichita. Wichita residents have continued to be more miserable than Kansas residents in general. This can be attributed to continued high rates of unemployment in the Wichita MSA and the onset of housing price declines. 

The Misery Index calculated by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR) includes the following information:

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• House Price Index (HPI) from the Federal Housing Finance Agency
• Unemployment Rates (UR) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Read the full second quarter report.

College Degrees: Are They Worth It?

With rising tuition costs, is a college degree really worth the investment? In order to shed some light on this question, The Center for Economic Development and Business Research has released a report analyzing the labor force by educational attainment, focusing on unemployment and wages.

Read the results of this analysis.

Retail Trade Business Analyzed in a New Report

The Great Recession had a greater impact on retail sales than the 2001 recession, and the recovery period was longer. For example, inflation-adjusted taxable retail sales in the Wichita MSA fell 5.13 percent in 2009, the year the Great Recession ended. But, inflation-adjusted taxable retail sales gained 0.34 percent in 2002, the year following the 2001 recession.

More analysis of the retail sales industry in the Wichita MSA is available in a new report released by The Center for Economic Development and Business Research.

Read this report in its entirety.

Current Conditions Index Reflects Stability in the Economy

From June to July, the WSU Current Conditions Index remained stable despite a 0.3 percentage point increase in the Wichita MSA’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and a 2.3 percentage point decline in Wichita’s seasonally adjusted hotel occupancy rate. Activity at Mid-Continent Airport showed monthly improvement, with a 1.8 percent increase in seasonally adjusted outbound airline passengers and a 6.2 percent increase in the seasonally adjusted volume of outbound airfreight shipments. The overall Index has grown each month in 2011, for a total percentage change of 3 percent since December.  

Read the July report in its entirety.

Leading Index Hits a Bump in the Road

In July, the WSU Leading Economic Indicators Index decreased for the second time this year, with a 0.7 percent drop from June. Five of the nine indicators experienced deterioration. The hardest hit were Kansas initial unemployment claims, which increased 35.4 percent, and the inflation-adjusted value of residential and nonresidential building permits, which decreased 27.2 percent and 49.8 percent, respectively. The indicator showing the greatest improvement from June to July was the inflation-adjusted value of new orders for aircraft and parts in the nation, which increased 25.3 percent. For the majority of the last 18 months, the Leading Index has been in an upward mode. Hopefully, July’s decline is not the beginning of a new trend.                                                     

Read July’s Leading Index report.

Indicators