The economy is rebounding, albeit gradually, in Kansas City as well as the rest of the United States. The “Kansas City Business Journal” cites three local economists who are cautiously optimistic about the Kansas City economy and specifically the city’s employment forecast.
Among the experts cited was Frank Lenk, senior director of research services for the Mid-America Regional Council. Lenk named rising home prices and the gradual recovery of the stock market as positive signs, but cautioned that the Kansas City employment forecast was still too low for him to feel comfortable. He estimated that there will be 12,000 new jobs added in the city in 2013, another 14,000 in 2014 and another 16,500 in 2015.
Another of the experts cited by “Kansas City Business Journal” was Chris Kuehl, the managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. Kuehl points to lack of job training as one of the stumbling blocks to new jobs in Kansas City and the United States as a whole. He offers as an example the fact that the average age of an experienced welder in the United States is 65.
The third expert cited in the article is Bob Litan, director of research for Bloomberg Government. Litan is more optimistic than the other two. He expects the U.S. gross national product (GNP) to grow by three percent in 2014, compared to 2.5 percent in 2013.
Kansas City Employment Forecast
What does this mean for jobs in Kansas City? Although the Kansas City employment forecast shows only a gradual recovery and modest increase in the number of jobs, the city is doing better than the nation as a whole. The predicted growth in the local economy of 2.5 to 3 percent (depending on the source) is better than the anticipated 2 percent growth nationwide. Locally, manufacturing jobs at both Ford and General Motors have increased, as have construction jobs while the housing market continues to rebound.