Kansas City, Mo ? A new report says the Kansas City area lost about 17,000 jobs during a recent one-year period, contradicting a federal report that said jobs were actually created in the area.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics had estimated that the area added 10,600 jobs during the 12 months that ended in July, even though area unemployment hit a nine-year high of 5.3 percent. The area ranked fourth nationwide among 274 metropolitan areas in job creation, according to the bureau.

But in a report sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, economist Frank Lenk said the federal report had not counted major employers that had announced massive layoffs, such as Sprint Corp. and Vanguard Airlines.

The bureau relies on companies willing to share employment data voluntarily, Lenk said, while he used national payroll employment data. And he said the bureau report was light in sectors such as transportation and utilities, which have been bleeding jobs in Kansas City.