Springfield metro area’s unemployment rate ticks down

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate improved slightly in May, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Last month, the jobless rate in the five-county area dropped to 2.7 percent, better than the 2.8 percent rate in April, according to a news release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

The Springfield metro area — comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties — ranked third in unemployment rate among the eight Missouri MSAs measured by the BLS.

The MSAs, in order of unemployment rates recorded in May, are:
    •    Columbia, 2.3 percent, unchanged from April;
    •    Jefferson City, 2.6 percent, down from 2.7 percent;
    •    Springfield, 2.7 percent, down from 2.8 percent;
    •    Joplin, 2.8 percent, down from 2.9 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 2.9 percent, down from 3 percent;
    •    Cape Girardeau, 3.1 percent, unchanged;
    •    St. Louis, 3.3 percent, up from 3.2 percent; and
    •    Kansas City, 3.6 percent, up from 3.3 percent.

Missouri’s May unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, unchanged from April, according to the release.

Compared with May 2017, last month’s unemployment rates were lower in 350 of the 388 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 20 and unchanged in 18.