The employment-population ratio is a measure of labor market strength. This is often used alongside the unemployment rate in determining the strength of the labor market.
Following the 2008 national recession, the employment-population ratio continued to decline at the U.S., Kansas, and Sedgwick County levels until the ratio reached its trough in 2014. Sedgwick County experienced a larger decline in its employment-population ratio than Kansas or the U.S. did, with a drop of 8.9 percentage points from 2008 to 2014.