Missouri unemployment rate ticks up slightly in August

Missouri's unemployment rate was up incrementally in August.

The jobless rate statewide last month was 3.9%, up from 3.8% in July, according to a news release from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. The data is seasonally adjusted.

"Missouri's unemployment rate has been at or below the national rate for more than nine years," officials said in the release, noting a 4.2% national unemployment rate in August.

Missouri's nonfarm payroll employment was nearly 3.1 million in August, an increase of 7,900 jobs from July. Private industry employment was up by 5,800, with government employment rising by 2,100.

In the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, nonfarm payroll ranks were 239,400 in August, a month-over-month increase of 700 jobs, according to the MERIC report.

The report also points to a total private workforce in the Springfield MSA of 208,800, with those workers making average weekly wages of $870.55 in August.