Update on Kansas Economic Conditions

One of our favorite sites for the latest on economic conditions in Wichita and throughout Kansas is Wichita State Universities Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR).  

Here is some recent information they provided on the Kansas transportation, health care and finance and insurance industries. 

Transportation Industry News and Developments

Transportation and warehousing employment has risen sharply inKansas in the past two years after remaining relatively flat for much of thelast decade. Since 2015, the sector added almost 6,000 new jobs, a 13.3 percentincrease. The vast majority of this increase occurred in the warehousing andstorage subsector, which increased from 20.4 to 27.2 percent of the totaltransportation and warehousing employment during that period. The singlelargest transportation subsector in Kansas is truck transportation, whichemployed more than 17,000 workers in Kansas in 2017.

Read the full report here

Health Care Industry News and Developments

In Kansas, health care and social assistance employment has grown consistently in the past two decades as medical technology and access continues to increase.  Growth has slowed somewhat in the past couple of years, and in 2017, employment grew by 0.3 percent, with approximately 600 jobs added.   In 2015, the fastest growing year for the sector in a decade, the sector added 5,000 jobs.

Read the full report here

Finance and Insurance Industry News and Developments

The finance and insurance industry grew its employment by 400jobs in 2017, a 0.7 percent increase compared to 2016. This growth was concentrated in the bank and other credit intermediation subsector, which added more than 600 jobs, while the insurance portion of the sector experienced its second consecutive year of job losses in 2017. Since 2010, the sector has added more than 4,000 jobs, primarily in the credit intermediation subsector, though all finance and insurance subsectors added jobs over that period.

Read the full report here