The Kansas City Fed offers free economic and personal finance resources for educators, bankers and consumers. We believe individuals of all ages who understand how the economy functions and know what tools are available make better financial decisions.

The Kansas City Financial Stress Index (KCFSI) is a monthly measure of stress in the U.S. financial system based on 11 financial market variables.

A positive value indicates that financial stress is above the long-run average, while a negative value signifies that financial stress is below the long-run average. Another useful way to assess the current level of financial stress is to compare the index to its value during past, widely recognized episodes of financial stress.

Join other women leaders in the financial services sector for Banking and the Economy: A Forum for Women in Banking. Get ready for engaging sessions around banking and economic updates, and leadership and professional development.

When the pandemic-induced recession began 18 months ago, employment quickly plummeted. April and May 2020 produced some of the worst jobs numbers in U.S. and Oklahoma history. But a rapid economic recovery had Oklahoma’s headline labor market figures nearly at pre-COVID levels by summer 2021. Moreover, in July, more External Linkmanufacturers and External Linkservices firms in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Tenth District—which includes Oklahoma—reported worker shortages than at any time. This edition of The Oklahoma Economist seeks to identify the extent to which workers still are available in Oklahoma and show how firms are dealing with labor shortages.

Join us October 21 for a research seminar that will explore issues related to women’s economic declines during the pandemic and the ability of women to participate equally in existing markets, post-recession.

The Kansas City Financial Stress Index (KCFSI) is a monthly measure of stress in the U.S. financial system based on 11 financial market variables.

A positive value indicates that financial stress is above the long-run average, while a negative value signifies that financial stress is below the long-run average. Another useful way to assess the current level of financial stress is to compare the index to its value during past, widely recognized episodes of financial stress.

Tenth District manufacturing activity continued at a strong pace, and expectations for future activity remained solid (Chart 1, Tables 1 & 2). The monthly index of prices paid for raw materials continued to increase for a majority of firms in August and the index of prices received for finished goods rose to a new survey high. Price indexes vs. a year ago expanded near record levels. Moving forward, district manufacturing firms expected materials prices and finished goods prices to continue to rise over the next six months.

The month-over-month composite index was 29 in August, similar to 30 in July, and up slightly from 27 in June (Tables 1 & 2). The composite index is an average of the production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery time, and raw materials inventory indexes. Durable goods plants continued to drive the growth in district manufacturing activity, in particular primary metals, computer and electronic products, and transportation equipment...

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Alongside a sharp turnaround in agricultural economic conditions and lasting support from government programs related to pandemic relief, farm income and loan repayment rates both increased from a year ago??at the fastest pace on record. The improvement in farm finances eased credit issues and contributed to softer demand for farm loans. With support from a strong farm economy and historically low interest rates, farm real estate values rose 10% from a year ago, which was the largest increase since 2013.

The outlook for profit opportunities in 2021 remained strong for most agricultural producers as commodity prices remained well above recent years. Conditions in the cattle industry remained somewhat weaker, however, and drought continued to hinder conditions for farmers and ranchers in some areas of...