Unemployment rate in Springfield metro area inches up

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate inched up in August from the prior month.

The jobless rate in the Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – rose to 2.9% in August from 2.8% in July, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Missouri's metro areas reported a mixed bag in August, resulting in a 3.4% unemployment rate statewide, flat from July, according to the BLS. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

The state’s metro areas, by August unemployment rate, are:
• Columbia, 2.7%, down from 2.8% in July.
• Jefferson City, 2.9%, down from 3%.
• Springfield, 2.9%, up from 2.8%.
• St. Joseph, 3.1%, down from 3.2%.
• Joplin, 3.2%, down from 3.4%.
• Cape Girardeau, 3.3%, down from 3.4%.
• Kansas City, 3.4%, up from 3.2%.
• St. Louis, 3.7%, up from 3.6%.

Compared with a year earlier, August unemployment rates were higher in 189 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, lower in 186 and unchanged in 14, according to the release. The Springfield metro area's August 2022 unemployment rate was 2.8%.