This issue of the Rocky Mountain Economist discusses how the unemployment rate is calculated and explores recent trends in the Mountain States’ unemployment rates.

The Kansas and Missouri economies continued to improve during the beginning of 2011.

The Kansas and Missouri economies showed further signs of stabilization heading into 2011, and some firms were seeking to expand. However, unemployment remains elevated,and real estate and construction activity is still sluggish.

The Missouri and Kansas economies improved slightly during the fall of 2011. Employment in Kansas showed signs of consistent growth after weakening earlier in the year, while Missouri employment growth was flat. The Kansas unemployment rate edged up slightly, and the Missouri unemployment rate...

The Kansas and Missouri economies improved somewhat during the summer, but the pace of activity was fairly slow. Employment in Missouri remains above year-ago levels. In Kansas, employment growth over the past year was zero after being in negative territory for the last year. Unemployment rates...

The economic situation in Kansas improved during the summer of 2012, but conditions in Missouri weakened. Employment growth was positive in Kansas during the second quarter, but the pace of growth slowed. In Missouri, employment growth was negative. The unemployment rate rose slightly in both...

The Kansas and Missouri economies continued to improve during the winter months. Missouri employment growth was slightly negative, but employment growth in Kansas was positive throughout the fourth quarter of 2011. In both Kansas and Missouri, the unemployment rate fell, and there are...

This issue of the Rocky Mountain Economist discusses how the unemployment rate is calculated and explores recent trends in the Mountain States’ unemployment rates.