Employment rebounds in Missouri metro areas

In February, the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area posted the third-highest job creation figures in all of Missouri’s MSAs, according to new data from the state Department of Economic Development.
While employment rebounded in February in most of Missouri’s metropolitan areas, the Springfield MSA outpaced job growth in the Kansas City MSA, on the Missouri side, and the Joplin MSA. Springfield’s MSA comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties.
Changes in total nonfarm employment between January and February were:
• St. Louis MSA: 9,900 jobs, mostly in public schools, construction, motor vehicle manufacturing, professional and business services, and educational and health services
• Columbia MSA: 3,400 jobs, mostly in schools and colleges
• Springfield MSA: 1,300 jobs, spread through a number of industries.
• Kansas City MSA (Missouri portion): 400 jobs
• Joplin MSA: 200 jobs
• St. Joseph MSA: 200 jobs
• Jefferson City MSA: 100 jobs
February’s job report comes on the heels of a sluggish January, where unemployment not seasonally adjusted spiked to 6.6 percent from 5.4 percent in December. The areas that had experienced the larger decreases in January generally had the larger February increases, the DED said. Missouri’s February unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
In Springfield, nonfarm payrolls grew by 3,700 jobs, or 2.1 percent in February. Increases were across the board, except for telecommunications. Health care and social assistance added 1,100 jobs, primarily due to expansion of hospital facilities and an increase in outpatient clinics in outlying areas.
The unemployment rate in Springfield’s MSA was 5.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent in January. A year ago it was 4.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Greene County’s 4.8 percent unemployment rate scored among the lowest in the state. Only Boone, Cole, Platte and Nodaway counties were lower. Taney and Stone counties had the two highest unemployment rates, at 24 percent and 22.8 percent, respectively. The report attributed the high rates to winter closures of tourism activities in Branson.