New private-sector jobs numbers for November from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that job growth in Kansas has returned to a growth rate in line with its pace for most of 2014 after the appearance of a growth surge in October. October’s update cautioned against assessing job growth in year-to-year, single-month snapshots for this very reason. Specifically, looking back to October, Kansas experienced a 1.25% job growth rate compared to October 2013. Looking now at November, the state achieved a 0.64% growth rate compared to November 2013.
Taking a longer-term view of job growth, however, shows that Kansas continues to achieve a greater growth rate in just the 23 months post-tax reform than it did in the fourteen years prior to it (beginning with 1998). The 2.64% growth rate it has posted from December 2012 through November 2014 (73.56% of job growth for its income-taxing peers) represents an improvement over the 2.31% (63.45% of job growth for its income-taxing peers) rate it achieved over the 14 years before taxes were reduced.Thus, just like in October, it remains true that Kansas trails its income-taxing peers in private-sector job growth. Yet, the state continues to gain ground and is more competitive in the wake of tax reform than prior to it.
Check back for December’s update.
