Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Kansas City Fed Denver / Oklahoma City / Omaha

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Labor Market Focus

Experts at the Kansas City Fed have developed a collection of research and resources exploring the impact of labor markets on the economy.

Monitoring the labor market is a key focus of the Federal Reserve in its mission to foster a stable and growing economy. Keeping a pulse on the supply and demand of jobs, wages and the demographics of the labor force is critical to understanding the health of local and national economies

The Kansas City Fed monitors the labor market through the work of experts and economists. Below, you’ll find an archive of the Bank’s latest research and resources related to labor.

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170 result(s) found


Article Title	Author(s)	Date	Type
The KC Fed LMCI suggests the level of activity was little changed, and momentum decelerated moderately in August The level of activity was little changed in August at 0.53, still above its historical average though lower than its pre-pandemic level. Labor Market Conditions Indicators, Labor Market, Recent Research	Expandable Row	September 10, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Inter-state Mobility and Earnings Gains of Young College Graduates Lower earnings gains and higher initial debt help explain why young college graduates are less likely to move across state lines. Labor and Demographics, Quantitative Methods, Economic Geography, Research Working Paper, Macroeconomics	Andrew Glover José Mustre-del-Río Expandable Row	September 3, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Labor Shortages in the Healthcare Sector Have Eased, Which May Soften Price Pressures Following severe labor shortages during the post-pandemic recovery, employment and wage growth in the healthcare sector have returned to their pre-pandemic trends. The healthcare sector is labor intensive, and inflation in the sector has historically tracked wage growth. Thus, lower wage growth may limit price pressures in the healthcare sector. Labor and Demographics, Macroeconomics, Economic Bulletin, Inflation	Johannes Matschke Emily Pollard Expandable Row	August 16, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Ask an Economist: Aditi Routh and Fumiko Hayashi A Kansas City Fed study explores cryptocurrency ownership and found that financial literacy and risk tolerance vary by type of owners. Labor and Demographics, Ask an Economist, Ten Magazine, Labor, Ten	Expandable Row	July 25, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Young Workers Fuel Recovery in Jobs Requiring a High School Diploma or Less The labor force of individuals with a high school diploma or less has surpassed pre-pandemic levels thanks to an increase in the number of young workers. However, this shift toward younger workers could affect both the current and future productive capacity of the economy. Young workers lack experience and work fewer hours, which could lead to productivity losses in the short term. More concerningly, some young people appear to be foregoing education to work, which may hurt their future labor market prospects. Labor and Demographics, Macroeconomics, Economic Bulletin	Emily Pollard Expandable Row	June 14, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Rising Immigration Has Helped Cool an Overheated Labor Market The United States has experienced a substantial influx of immigrants over the past two years. In 2023, net international migration surpassed its pre-pandemic peak. This flow of immigrant workers has acted as a powerful catalyst in cooling overheated labor markets and tempering wage growth across industries and states. Labor and Demographics, International, Economic Bulletin	Elior Cohen Expandable Row	May 22, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
As Earned Wage Access Grows, Oversight Tries to Catch Up Earned wage access (EWA) services have grown in popularity as more providers offer them and more businesses and consumers use them. However, the complex fee structures and high costs of EWA, as well as some users’ heavy reliance on these services, have raised concerns. Regulatory and legislative bodies have begun to respond to these concerns, with states taking the lead in proposing or passing EWA legislation. Labor and Demographics, Payments, Payments System Research Briefing, Banking and Finance	Terri Bradford Expandable Row	May 15, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row
Leisure and Hospitality: Strong Demand and Supply Constraints Strong household finances, along with pent-up demand from the pandemic, has fueled discretionary spending on recreation and experiences for Nebraskans. Labor and Demographics, Nebraska Economist, Savings, Nebraska	John McCoy Expandable Row	May 7, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Ask an Economist: Strong labor market has narrowed gaps between Black and white non-college men Research shows large gains in employment since the COVID-19 pandemic-led recession. Labor and Demographics, Ask an Economist, Labor Market, Ten	Expandable Row	April 24, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Expandable Row
Foreign-Born Women Have Driven the Recent Increase in Prime-Age Women in the Labor Force The labor force participation rate of prime-age (25 to 54) women declined dramatically during the pandemic-led recession but has since recovered to an all-time high. We examine how different groups have contributed to this rebound and find that foreign-born women, particularly those with a bachelor’s degree, account for most of the increase in the number of prime-age women in the labor force. Immigration, in turn, fueled the increase in the number of foreign-born women in the labor force. Labor and Demographics, International, Macroeconomics, Economic Bulletin	Didem Tüzemen Emily Pollard Expandable Row	April 15, 2024 Expandable Row	Web Page Full Text Expandable Row