KC’s data center boom is a windfall for construction trades. But the AI powered by those buildings is already reshaping who has job security — and who doesn’t.
Labor
Posted inHousing
Working homelessness: When ‘getting a job’ isn’t enough in KC
Increasing numbers of sheltered families have jobs while a growing population is caught in the gap between the wages they earn and the cost of housing. It’s a formula for rising homelessness.
Posted inEconomics
Canary in the corner booth: What restaurant closures reveal about the KC economy
Some legacy restaurants close ahead of World Cup opportunity while others report strong sales. Who can afford a night out reveals a split economy.
Posted inEconomics
Close to the bone: KC’s workers struggle with inflation amid affordability crisis
While workers produce more than ever, rising costs for food, housing, child care, and health care outpace wage growth, forcing Kansas City families into tough choices.
Posted inEconomics
AI disruption is here: Kansas City workers navigate new reality
New data center jobs pay $23/hour, but 40,000 workers face automation risk from AI. Local leaders ponder AI jobs transition ahead.
Posted inLabor
Reservation for 650,000: Kansas City’s hospitality industry braces for World Cup workforce scramble
With more than 6,000 open food service job listings and no coordinated plan to address staffing, Kansas City restaurant leaders worry they won’t be ready for the massive influx of World Cup visitors in 2026.
Posted inLabor
‘Troost is not scary’: Kansas City Equity Walk highlights Black business revival on historic street
The Troost Equity Walk on Aug. 15 invites the public to trek 10 miles along Kansas City’s historic racial dividing line, visiting The Combine KC, Aim Well Yoga, WeCode KC, and others.
Posted inLabor
U.S. Department of Agriculture looks to move thousands of employees out of D.C., with some coming to Kansas City
The move will bring staff closer to those they serve and help the department cut costs, according to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Posted inState Government
Missouri lawmakers look to roll back Proposition A’s paid sick leave protections
A bill that’s passed the Missouri House and is being debated in the Senate would roll back paid sick leave and other provisions months after Proposition A was passed by voters.
Posted inLabor
Thousands of IRS workers in Kansas City brace for layoffs amid federal government purge
On a day when dangerously cold weather forced the Internal Revenue Service to close its downtown processing center, hundreds of probationary employees are on notice that their jobs are likely going away. Following days of uncertainty for Kansas City’s federal workforce, IRS employees learned in a Feb. 18 video message that their jobs would be […]