Where’s report on economy?

Is it coincidence that Gov. Sam Brownback’s Council of Economic Advisors stopped producing its quarterly economic report during the run-up to the November election?

Or that the council stopped posting the reports on its website the same time Brownback was facing a difficult 2014 re-election campaign?

Brownback, who complains about the media not reporting all the great economic news in the state, wouldn’t be trying to bury this information, would he?

Brownback and his economic advisors decided in 2012 that a report on the “Indicators of the Kansas Economy” would be issued quarterly and serve “as the leading document” to evaluate the state’s economy.

“These economic metrics will allow us to determine the state’s relative economic position as it relates to the six-state region and the nation, and to monitor in a timely manner if our policies and initiatives are having the desired economic effect,” Brownback said at the time.

But as the reports kept showing Kansas trailing the region and nation on most economic measures – despite Brownback’s boast that his tax policies would act “like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy” – it became more and more difficult to read or hear about these reports.

After publishing nine consecutive IKE reports online, the council stopped posting them on its website after the March 2014 report. Those interested in seeing the reports had to contact the Kansas Department of Commerce to get a copy.

But now the council stopped producing the report. The Department of Commerce said that, for the time being, it would be using a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve puts together that provides similar statistics.

The last IKE report was in May. As with earlier reports, it showed mixed results.

Kansas trailed the nation in nearly all measures, and it trailed the region in more than half of them – including population growth, personal income and private establishment growth.

Kansas led the region and nation in building permits (up 22.9 percent as of March) and unemployment rate (4.0 percent in March). It was slightly better than the region in gross state product (1.5 percent growth in Kansas in 2015; 1.4 percent in region) but far short of the national average (3.0 percent).

Kansas performed badly in non-farm job growth (-0.1 percent in March). The regional average was 1.5 percent, and national average was 2.0 percent.

Private sector employment growth (a measure that Brownback emphasizes) was even worse: -0.2 percent in Kansas, 1.7 percent for the region, and 2.3 percent for the nation.

Since March, the state’s job numbers have worsened. Kansas had 8,300 fewer jobs in August than the previous year, for a -0.6 percent growth rate.

Maybe that’s why the council nixed its report.

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 5:06 AM with the headline "Where’s report on economy?."