Wichita and similar cities have seen large changes, mostly declines, in their employment-population ratio over the last decade. Many have been more strongly affected by the 2008 recession than the rest of the United States.
- After the official end of the 2008 recession in June 2009, Sedgwick County’s employment-population ratio continued to decline for a longer period than any of the four peer counties. In 2014, Sedgwick County’s ratio began to increase consistently for the first time since the recession, whereas Kent and Greenville Counties began to recover in 2010, Lancaster County in 2011, and Summit County in 2013.
