Springfield unemployment rate on the move

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a point to 3.4 percent in May, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The May figure is down from 3.7 percent in April and 4.2 percent in March and February, according to a news release. The MSA comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties.

All but one of Missouri’s eight metro areas experienced an unemployment rate decrease in May compared to April. Kansas City increased to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent.

The Show-Me State’s May jobless rates:
    •    Columbia, 2.7 percent;
    •    Jefferson City, 3.4 percent;
    •    Springfield, 3.4 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 3.6 percent;
    •    Joplin, 3.7 percent;
    •    Cape Girardeau, 4.1 percent;
    •    Kansas City, 4.1 percent; and
    •    St. Louis, 4.2 percent.

Missouri’s unemployment rate dropped to 4 percent in May from 4.2 percent in April, according to the release.

Compared with the same month in 2015, May unemployment rates were lower in 333 of the 387 metro areas the BLS measures, higher in 49 and unchanged in five.