Local governments, which rely heavily on property taxes and fund transfers from state governments, continue to struggle with slowing revenues - a situation that is likely to persist over the next few years. As new property tax assessments reflect declines in house prices, local property tax...

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...