Very few events in history have had as much an effect on human life and the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, public health authorities and government leaders enacted policies to curtail transmission and consumers reduced their activity in public spaces such as restaurants. Schools switched to online learning. Offices emptied as employers had many employees work from home. Travel halted abruptly, leading to hotel closures and cancelled flights. Restaurants shifted to take-out only or closed completely. Millions across the U.S. became unemployed in the largest mass layoff since the Great Depression. Disproportionate effects were felt especially in low-wage jobs, affecting many women and people of color.

As people lost jobs, the hit to their finances affected their ability to pay for housing. Low-income workers are more likely to be renters than to own a home. Thus, a widescale economic shutdown that disproportionately affected low-wage...

The labor force participation of prime-age individuals (age 25 to 54) in the United States declined dramatically at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as of June 2021, the prime-age labor force participation rate remains well below its pre-pandemic level. Prime-age individuals are in their most productive working years, and a persistent decline in their labor force participation has important implications for the future of the labor market and economic growth. However, understanding the decline requires detailed analysis, as aggregate statistics on labor force participation may mask differences in labor market outcomes.

Didem Tüzemen documents changes in the labor force participation rates of prime-age individuals across sex, education level, and race and ethnicity during the pandemic-induced downturn and subsequent recovery. Her analysis yields three key findings. First, prime-age women without a bachelor’s degree experienced greater...

Steven Howland is an assistant economist in the Community Engagement and Inclusion Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He joined the Bank in August 2020 after a career as a college instructor and researcher. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in urban and environmental planning from Arizona State University and has a doctorate in urban studies from Portland State University. He brings a passion and perspective driven by his family’s experience with disability and low-wage work.

Community Connections: Steven, how would you describe your role with the community development team?

Howland: I’m responsible for much of the research we do. I perform analyses on various surveys we conduct, such as the low- and moderate-income (LMI) economic conditions survey, and those at the System level to provide insight on the conditions of LMI communities in our District. I also conduct independent research that gives more insight to particular issues in...

Very few events in history have had as much an effect on human life and the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, public health authorities and government leaders enacted policies to curtail transmission and consumers reduced their activity in public spaces such as restaurants. Schools switched to online learning. Offices emptied as employers had many employees work from home. Travel halted abruptly, leading to hotel closures and cancelled flights. Restaurants shifted to take-out only or closed completely. Millions across the U.S. became unemployed in the largest mass layoff since the Great Depression. Disproportionate effects were felt especially in low-wage jobs, affecting many women and people of color.

As people lost jobs, the hit to their finances affected their ability to pay for housing. Low-income workers are more likely to be renters than to own a home. Thus, a widescale economic shutdown that disproportionately affected low-wage...

The Kansas City Fed's quarterly economic databooks provide summaries for the Tenth Federal Reserve District states including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. The databooks provide current economic indicators to help monitor trends and allow comparison of past information. These indicators include: Gross Domestic Product (GDP); inflation; employment; employment by industry; county and state unemployment; personal income; home prices; housing indicators; manufacturing; oil, gas and coal production; agriculture; and exports.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics & Haver Analytics

2021 Databooks

2020 Databooks

2019 Databooks

2018 Databooks

The number of new small businesses in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming increased in 2020, even as the COVID-19 pandemic caused overall economic activity to decline at historic rates. However, the small businesses in the Rocky Mountain region that remained open or were newly started were not the same type that typically drives significant job creation. Only recently has the number of small businesses that employ additional workers begun to recover.

Nonprofit organizations are critical to meeting the economic and social needs of their communities. The Kansas City Fed has developed the following resources to help nonprofit organizations achieve their missions and expand their impact.

One of the feature exhibits at the Money Museum is the Truman Coin Collection on loan from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. This collection consists of 450 coins and was originally the personal collection of John Snyder, the Secretary of the Treasury during the Truman administration. This collection was completed and given to the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri for public display in March of 1962.

In November of 1962, the coin collection was stolen from its display at the Library and Museum. The original collection was never recovered, however, Snyder and John Stacks, a rare coin dealer in New York, reassembled a comparable collection from the donations of 167 coin collectors. This collection was presented to President Truman on May 6, 1967 by Stacks and Snyder and was placed on display once more.

To illustrate a topic highlighted during the Kansas City Fed’s Agricultural Symposium, Bank videographers Brett Smith and Kevin Wright traveled to Spencer Farms in Ottawa, Kansas to learn how technology affects productivity in agriculture.

Owner and operator Kevin Spencer, who runs Spencer Farms with his sons, Brad and Aaron, described the impact of technology in use today:

Although studies consistently find that credit cards are the most costly payment method for merchants to accept in person, research has been mixed on the relative acceptance costs of debit cards versus cash. To accept debit cards, for example, merchants pay interchange fees for processing card transactions among other costs—and despite regulation in the United States to cap interchange fees, some U.S. merchants still consider these fees too high. Cash transactions also impose costs: merchants may pay bank fees to deposit cash or hire employees to count and sort it.

Fumiko Hayashi examines which of two payment methods—cash or debit cards—is more costly for merchants to accept in person in six countries: the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. She finds that debit cards have been more costly for merchants to accept than cash in the United States in recent years, while cash has become more costly to accept than debit...

Teaching Tips is a free resource from the Kansas City Fed. Using our tips, teachers can integrate current banking issues and research into their classrooms with Federal Reserve research. Teaching Tips are available for grades 5-12.

Excel SpreadsheetCredit Conditions  | Excel SpreadsheetFixed Interest Rates | Excel SpreadsheetVariable Interest Rates  | Excel SpreadsheetLand Values

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...

Very few events in history have has as much an effect on human life and the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, public health authorities and government leaders enacted policies to curtail transmission and consumers reduced their activity in public spaces such as restaurants. Schools switched to online learning. Offices emptied as employers had many employees work from home. Travel halted abruptly, leading to hotel closures and cancelled flights. Restaurants shifted to take-out only or closed completely. Millions across the U.S. became unemployed in the largest mass layoff since the Great Depression. Disproportionate effects were felt especially in low-wage jobs, affecting many women and people of color.

As people lost jobs, the hit to their finances affected their ability to pay for housing. Low-income workers are more likely to be renters than to own a home. Thus, a widescale economic shutdown that disproportionately affected low-wage...

The labor force participation of prime-age individuals (age 25 to 54) in the United States declined dramatically at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as of June 2021, the prime-age labor force participation rate remains well below its pre-pandemic level. Prime-age individuals are in their most productive working years, and a persistent decline in their labor force participation has important implications for the future of the labor market and economic growth. However, understanding the decline requires detailed analysis, as aggregate statistics on labor force participation may mask differences in labor market outcomes.

Didem Tüzemen documents changes in the labor force participation rates of prime-age individuals across sex, education level, and race and ethnicity during the pandemic-induced downturn and subsequent recovery. Her analysis yields three key findings. First, prime-age women without a bachelor’s degree experienced greater...