Missouri unemployment rises in September

The unemployment rate is down slightly from the September 2003 rate of 5.7 percent.

A portion of the September jobs increase came from an increase in school employment, which returned to more normal levels after several months of irregularity, a Missouri DED release said. Construction employment also was up by 2,200 jobs, due in large part to more favorable weather conditions.

Unadjusted employment figures over the last year have risen by 39,100 jobs, or 1.5 percent.

The major contributors have been the goods-producing, construction and manufacturing sectors. The greatest growth in the private service-providing sectors came in health care and social assistance, which added 11,500 jobs, an increase of 3.8 percent. Professional and business services have been on the rise as well, adding 8,800 jobs, or 2.9 percent.

Jim Grebing, Missouri DED spokesperson, said the outlook for the rest of the year remains up in the air.

“We’re seeing a kind of mixed bag in the economy right now,” he said. “Nationally, the economy is starting to struggle a little, and with gas prices continuing to climb and home heating oil prices expected to be higher than normal, things could be tough. Those issues are really beyond the control of the state, but they can have a big impact on our economy, so it kind of puts a cloud over the future.”

Meanwhile, the national Consumer Confidence Index, published by the Conference Board on Oct. 26, showed consumer confidence is down for the second consecutive month. (See sidebar article.)

Grebing said those numbers are indicative of increased uncertainty among the general public.

“(Missouri) had good job growth in the early part of the year, but that has slowed quite a bit recently,“ he said. “The consumer index is showing its lowest numbers since March, and that’s a sign that consumers are uncertain about what’s going to happen. Part of that is due to the fact that national employment numbers are down, which is a sign the economy may be backpedaling.”