Kansas job growth rank is still better since the 2012 tax relief effort despite ongoing challenges in oil, agriculture and aerospace according to 2016 data just released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. 
Kansas was ranked #40 among the states for Private Nonfarm job growth between 1998 and 2012 but has moved up to #37 in the four years since tax cuts were enacted. The average annual growth rate was 0.5 percent over the prior period and 1.4 percent since tax relief. The BEA data used in this analysis is more comprehensive than that provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics because it includes proprietors.
Kansas had a net gain of 10,611 private nonfarm jobs in 2016 and set a new employment record with 1.562 million jobs.
The 2016 Kansas job growth was dampened by another decline in the Oil & Gas sector and a precipitous drop in Management of Companies & Enterprises. BEA defines that Management sector as “…establishments that hold the securities companies and enterprises for the purpose of owning a controlling interest or influencing management decisions or establishments that administer, oversee, and manage establishments of the company or enterprise and that normally undertake the strategic or organizational planning and decision-making role of the company or enterprise.” While farm workers aren’t included in the job totals, industry sectors that serve agriculture would have been impacted by weak commodity prices and reduced farm income.
Sectors with strong gains include Transportation & Warehousing (3.8 percent), Real Estate (3.6 percent) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (4.3 percent); Retail, Health Care and the Arts also had good gains.
