For December 2020, total Kansas tax revenue was 1.8 percent greater than last December 2019. Over the six months of the current fiscal year, tax revenue is 16.6 percent higher than at the same point of the previous fiscal year.
Tag: Economics
Updated: Kansas hotel guest tax collections
Kansas hotel guest tax collections presented in an interactive visualization. Updated with data through November 2020.
Quarterly state government tax collections
State government tax revenue has generally recovered since the second quarter.
Data from the United States Census Bureau shows that state government tax revenue has largely rebounded since the pandemic.
The data, which is from the Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue program, is now available for the third quarter of 2020, which is the months of July, August, and September. In this article and the accompanying charts and visualizations, I present state collections only.
Considering Kansas, total state tax collections in the first quarter were $2,730 million. That dipped to $2,452 million in the second quarter (April, May, and June) as the pandemic — or, rather, the response to the pandemic — affected the economy. In the third quarter, collections rebounded to $2,770, which is slightly more than the first quarter.
This pattern is common for many states, and appears in the totals for the nation. The nearby illustration shows Kansas, the nation, and nearby states.
Click for larger. Another chart illustrates that Kansas state government taxes are relatively high when expressed on a per resident basis.
Click for larger. To learn more about the data and access the interactive visualization, click on Visualization: Quarterly state government tax collections.
Population growth in the states
Here is your Christmas Eve animated chart, showing population growth in the states during this decade. Besides viewing below, you can click here for a larger version.
Kansas GDP
In the third quarter of 2020, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 34.3 percent, compared to contraction of 30.6 percent in the previous quarter. GDP grew in all states, with Kansas performing in the middle.
In the third quarter of 2020, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 34.3 percent in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars, according to statistics released today by Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the United States Department of Commerce. This large growth overcomes the contraction of 30.3 percent in the second quarter. This pattern of large growth in the third quarter after second-quarter contraction was shown in all states, to varying magnitudes.
GDP in Kansas for the quarter was at the annual rate of $175,465 million in current dollars, up from $161,464 the previous quarter. The third quarter consists of July, August, and September.
Click for larger. This the third quarter of data to be affected by the response to the pandemic, as BEA noted in the release accompanying the data:
The increase in third quarter GDP reflected continued efforts to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19. The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the GDP estimate for the third quarter of 2020 because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified.
The Kansas rate of 34.3 percent ranked twenty-sixth among the states The national rate was 33.4 percent, with the rate for the Plains states at 35.0 percent. (For this data, BEA defines Plains states as Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.)
Over the last eight quarters, Kansas has averaged quarterly growth rates of 0.8 percent in annual terms. For the nation, the rate was -0.9 percent. For the Plains states, it was 0.9 percent.
In the table of industries, we see that Kansas industries that grew significantly are Durable goods manufacturing, Nondurable goods manufacturing, Accomodation and food services, Health care and social assistance, Wholesale trade, and Retail trade.
For the complete release at BEA, click on Gross Domestic Product by State, 3rd Quarter 2020.
I have developed an interactive visualization of this data over time. To access, click on Visualization: Quarterly Real Gross Domestic Product by state and industry.
State population estimates for 2020
Compared to the nation and surrounding states, Kansas is growing slowly. An interactive visualization.
Each year the United States Census Bureau releases population estimates for the United States. Today, the Bureau released estimates for state populations as of July 1, 2020.
I present this data, along with associated computations of my own, in an interactive visualization. The nearby example shows data for Kansas as of July 1, 2020.
While Kansas is approaching three million in population, it will take many years to reach that benchmark. The estimated population of Kansas is 2,913,805 persons, growing by 1,170 persons (0.04 percent) from 2019. This rate of growth is slow, ranking number 33 among the states. The nearby chart of the rate of population growth in Kansas shows growth is flat in recent years, and below a selection of surrounding states.
Click for larger. To learn more about the data and access the interactive visualization, click here.
Example from the visualization. Click for larger 
Kansas jobs, November 2020
In Kansas for November 2020, the labor force grew while the number of people working fell, resulting in a rise in the unemployment rate.
Data released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows a declining employment picture in Kansas for November 2020.
(Click charts and tables for larger versions.)
Using seasonally adjusted data, from October 2020 to November 2020, nonfarm employment in Kansas fell by 2,900 jobs (0.5 percent). Over the year, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs for November 2020 was lower by 58,300 (4.1 percent) over the same month last year. This is using seasonally adjusted data. The non-adjusted figure is 56,900 fewer jobs (4.0 percent).
Over the year (November 2019 to November 2020), the Kansas labor force rose by 37,340 people (2.5 percent) using seasonally adjusted data, with an increase of 15,945 (1.1 percent) over the last month. Non-seasonal data shows a rise of 36,102 (2.4 percent) in the labor force over the year.
The Kansas economy had been adding jobs each month since May, but there was a decline in September. The rise in October overcame September’s loss, but jobs were lost in November. There are now 2,600 fewer jobs in Kansas than in August. The national economy added jobs, although a small number, and less than previous months since the pandemic started.
The number of unemployed persons rose from October 2020 to November 2020 by 10,452 (13.8 percent). The unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in November, up 2.5 percentage points from one year ago, and up 0.6 percentage points from last month.
Comparing Kansas to the nation: Using seasonal data, the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs is 4.10 percent lower than 12 months ago, while nationally, the same statistic is 6.05 percent lower. Non-seasonal data shows the number of Kansas nonfarm jobs is 3.95 percent lower than 12 months ago, while nationally, the same statistic is 5.99 percent lower.
Click charts and tables for larger versions.
In the following chart showing job changes from the previous month, the magnitude of the changes in April through August overwhelms the other months. Note the loss of jobs for Kansas in September followed by the rise in October and the small loss in November.
In the following chart of job levels from the same month one year ago, the November figures show the loss of jobs reversing course in Kansas.
In the following chart of unemployment rates, we see that the rate in Kansas is lower than the national rate, both before and after the pandemic. The gap is becoming smaller with the rise in the unemployment rate for Kansas in November.
In the following chart of changes in the labor force for Kansas and the nation, the labor force has both grown and shrank since the pandemic.
The June release contained figures for industry groups. The following chart shows the number of employees in November 2019 and November 2020.
This chart uses the same data, showing the percent change from November 2019. The Leisure and hospitality category is still the lowest, proportionally, followed by Mining and logging and Information. The only industry group to gain employees is Construction. (Note the horizontal scale is from positive to negative values when moving left to right.)
Real personal income in Wichita and other metropolitan areas
When adjusted for regional differences, per capita personal income in Wichita is relatively high. In recent years growth in per capita and total personal income has been slow, but better in 2019.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the United States Department of Commerce, generates personal income data for the nation, the states, and metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs. Today BEA released data for 2019, and I present the metro data in an interactive visualization.
When presenting economic data, the term “real” commonly means that dollar amounts have been adjusted for the effects of inflation. That is the case for this data. BEA goes further in also adjusting data for regional price parity and personal consumption expenditures price index.
The difference when using values adjusted for regional differences can be substantial. For example, when considering per capita personal income in 2019 using current, non-adjusted dollars, Wichita ranks number 113 among the nation’s 384 metropolitan areas. When adjusted for region, Wichita ranks number 56.
In the example for some nearby metro areas, Wichita’s per capita personal income is near the middle at $54,460. But since 2011, Wichita per capita personal income has grown slowly, rising by 12 percent while the national value grew by 18 percent. For the same period, total personal income in Wichita grew by 15 percent, while the nation grew by 24 percent. For Wichita, 2019 was an improvement from 2018.
Click for larger. 
Click for larger. 
Click for larger. To learn more about this data and access the interactive visualizations, click here.
Real gross domestic product by county
Real GDP values by county, presented in an interactive visualization.
This week the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, released gross domestic product figures by county for 2019. These values are real, that is, adjusted for inflation.
According to BEA, “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 2,484 counties, decreased in 612 counties, and was unchanged in 17 counties in 2019.”
A nearby example shows real GDP per capita for some large Kansas counties.
Click for larger. The news release from BEA is here.
To learn more about the data and use the interactive visualization, click here.
