Regional employment continued to decline through the first 9 months of 2002. Overall nonagricultural employment fell 0.9 percent to 6.4 million jobs compared with September 2001. Missouri had the largest share of the region’s job losses. Manufacturing accounted for nearly 43 percent of regional job losses. Manufacturing jobs in the region declined by 2.7 percent to 917,000 jobs between the end of September 2001 and September 2002 and the transportation sector in the region recorded a 2.1-percent decrease to 384,000 jobs during this period. All economic sectors in the region except services experienced declines.

With nearly a 9-percent decline over the 12 months ending in September 2002, Wichita experienced the largest rate of manufacturing job losses among the metropolitan areas in the region. The St. Louis metropolitan area, which had a 3-percent decline over the same period, ranked second. Layoffs at Boeing Aircraft facilities in both metropolitan areas contributed to these declines. Kansas City and St. Louis incurred declines of 2.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, in transportation. The transportation losses were caused primarily by layoffs at bankrupt Vanguard Airlines in Kansas City and at American Airlines in the company’s St. Louis hub.

Although there is a somewhat sluggish economy, the Great Plains housing industry is healthy and has helped offset weakness in other sectors. Single-family permit activity increased during the first 9 months of the year. A total of 35,000 units were permitted in the region through the end of September 2002, up 6.3 percent compared with September 2001. All major metropolitan areas in the region registered increases in single-family permit activity over the past 12 months. Approximately 8,000 single-family permits were issued in Kansas City and 8,600 new homes were permitted in St. Louis through September 2002, up 10 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2001. Des Moines registered the highest rate of increase at 23 percent, and new single-family permits in Omaha and Springfield, Missouri, rose 8.6 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively, during this period.

Existing home sales generally have remained steady in the region. In the Kansas City metropolitan area, existing home sales for 2002 through the end of September increased less than 1 percent compared with the same period in 2001. The average sales price for existing homes rose 2 percent to $141,600 during the period. In metropolitan St. Louis existing home sales also remained unchanged. Sales increased 6 percent in Omaha to 5,300 through September 2002 compared with September 2001, and the average sales price decreased 2 percent to $136,000 during this period. In Springfield, Missouri, existing sales increased 4 percent to 4,800 homes sold, and the average sales price rose less than 1 percent to $113,200.

Multifamily permit activity in the Great Plains increased by 17 percent to 12,600 units in the first 9 months of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001. Increases in the number of permits issued occurred in all States in the region except for Kansas. All major metropolitan markets in the region registered increases in multifamily permits issued except for Kansas City, which recorded a 44-percent decline to 2,300 units. The decline in Kansas City is a response to the high volume of units that recently entered the market, resulting in softer market conditions. The overall rental vacancy rate is currently 12 percent. Most of the new multifamily activity has been in Johnson County, which also is experiencing the fastest rate of household growth of any county in the Kansas City metropolitan area. A return to more balanced vacancy rates over the next 24 to 36 months is likely.