The leading index has also improved from March to April, by 0.4 percent.  This indicates that economic activity is anticipated to be slightly higher in the late fall than the current level of economic activity in the Wichita area.  This can be attributed to an improvement in the Kansas Leading Index between March and April.  The improvement in the Kansas Leading Index was slightly offset by small decreases in the Aircraft Production Index and the National Industrial Production Index.

The current index is up 0.5 percent from the March level, and current economic activity is 1.3 percent higher than it was in April of 2012.  The current increase in economic activity can be attributed to the 0.9 percent increase in both the hours worked and earnings of production employees.  There also have been small improvements in the level of total non-farm employment and the unemployment rate, between March and April. 

Misery in the United States, Kansas and the four Kansas metros, as measured by the Misery Index, increased from fourth quarter 2012 to first quarter 2013. Most of the other eight MSAs tracked by CEDBR also experienced an increase in their misery levels. Greenville, S.C., was the only exception. 

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

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

Read the complete first quarter report. 

The 1st Quarter 2013 issue of Wichita Industry News and Developments (WIND), which provides a brief overview of statistical trends and major announcements by industry sector, is now available.  The report covers the Wichita MSA, which is comprised of Butler, Harvey, Sedgwick and Sumner counties in Kansas.

Access the full report. 

Three industries account for 56.3 percent of unemployment insurance beneficiaries in the Wichita area; manufacturing, construction, administrative and support and waste management and remediation services.  Each of these industries has a disproportionately high level of unemployment beneficiaries relative to their portion of the total employment in the Wichita economy.   Although other industries, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and accommodation and food services, have a high number of unemployment beneficiaries, they are lower relative to their portion of total employment.

For more information about unemployment beneficiaries by manufacturing, construction, or administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, download the full report.

Educational attainment is a leading indicator of unemployment.  The higher the level of education the less likely a person will be unemployed.  This is true across all demographic characteristics.  In the Wichita area 33.4 percent of the labor force, age 25 to 64, have no more education than a high school diploma.  Of those receiving unemployment benefits, 58.8 percent have no more education than a high school diploma. 

For more information about unempoyment benfitiaries by gender, age or race, download the full report.