Kansas City-area counties see job losses but mixed changes to wages
Employment dropped in nearly all of the 334 largest U.S. counties from September 2008 to September 2009, and Kansas City-area counties didn’t escape the declines.
Clay County took the greatest local hit, with employment falling 5.7 percent, or 86,600 jobs, according to figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday. Johnson County trailed close behind, with employment diving 5.6 percent, or 299,400 jobs. Jackson County experienced a decline of 4.4 percent, or 353,100 jobs. Wyandotte County saw a drop of 2.7 percent, or 78,800 jobs, which was the 35th-best showing in the nation.
See the complete report here.
None of the drops were as severe as in Elkhart County, Ind., where employment fell 14.5 percent during the period, mostly because of manufacturing job losses.
The greatest gain came in Yakima County, Wash., where employment rose 1.7 percent.
The nation’s average weekly wage slid 0.1 percent during the third quarter of 2009, the first year-to-year drop in three quarters and one of only five drops since 1978. Average financial activities wages fell 2.3 percent; average manufacturing wages fell 0.2 percent. Wage changes ranged from a 6.6 percent gain in Bell County, Texas, to a 13.2 percent loss in Rutherford, Tenn.
Here’s how the Kansas City-area counties stacked up in terms of average weekly wage and the percent change year to year:
• Clay County, $785, up 2.7 percent
• Jackson County, $858, up 0.7 percent
• Johnson County, $858, down 0.9 percent
• Wyandotte County, $812, down 2.2 percent