The Mid-America Regional Council's "Monthly Workforce Indicator" report says jobs in the Kansas City metro area grew by 2,000 in May.
Dollars and Sense
Modest job growth in KC area in May
June 24
That was the fourth straight month of payroll growth, but the May number lagged bigger job growth numbers in March and April.
At the same time, the area's unemployment rate rose with the influx of new graduates and students looking for summer work.
The report puts the modest job growth in perspective:
The area needed to increase employment by 5,000 jobs in May to keep joblessness at April's 8.1 percent rate instead of the 8.4 percent it hit in May.
On the brighter side: Area employers posted 35,400 different help-wanted ads in May, or about 7,000 more than in May a year ago.
