Ferguson to get 200 jobs via Centene Corp.

Clayton-based Centene Corp. is planning to bring 200 new jobs to Ferguson. Centene, a Fortune 500 managed care company with $10.5 billion in annual revenue, selected the city for expansion because of the recent unrest there following the death of teenager Michael Brown, according to its chairman and CEO.

The company plans to make Ferguson the home of a new claims processing facility for its Missouri-based State Health Plan and overflow from contracts in other states. While a location has yet to be chosen, Centene is working to have the center open in 2015, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The city of 21,000 in north St. Louis County has seen its unemployment rate more than double in recent years, going to over 13 percent between 2010 and 2012 from less than 5 percent in 2000.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.