Missouri unemployment rate hits 17-year low

The Show-Me State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate landed at a 17-year low in October, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Last month, the Missouri jobless rate was 3.5 percent, compared with 3.8 percent in September and 4.6 percent in October 2016, according to a news release.

During October, employers statewide added a net 1,000 nonfarm jobs.

The increase was led by:
    •    health care and social assistance, at 2,900 jobs;
    •    manufacturing, 2,400; and
    •    leisure and hospitality, 2,100.

Partially offsetting the improvements were 2,500 job losses in both retail trade and local government, according to the release.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent data, the national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in October and the Springfield metropolitan statistical area jobless rate was 2.9 percent in September. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.