Missouri unemployment rate rises for 4th straight month

Missouri’s unemployment rate is on an upward trajectory.

The seasonally adjusted rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 5.2 percent in September, the fourth-straight month of increases. August’s 5.1 percent rate was above 4.7 percent in July, 4.5 percent in June and 4.3 percent in May. April’s unemployment rate also was 4.3 percent, according to Missouri Department of Economic Development data.

However, the state’s nonfarm payroll employment figure grew by 6,700 jobs last month. It was led by health care and social assistance, at 2,400 jobs, followed by 1,700 jobs in educational services and 1,500 in finance and insurance, according to a news release.

During September, the U.S. unemployment rate moved up to 5 percent from 4.9 percent as employers added 156,000 jobs. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is not seasonally adjusted.

The latest BLS data put the Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate at 4.8 percent in August, which was up from 4.4 percent in July.