Mo. employers hire 11,900 new workers in July

Missouri employers added 11,900 jobs in July, well ahead of the 1,500 new positions reported in June, according to the state Department of Economic Development.

Still, the Show-Me State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held flat at 5.8 percent for the third consecutive month, according to a news release.

During July, Missouri’s leading job growth industries were:
    •    wholesale trade, up by 1,500;
    •    health care and social assistance, 1,500;
    •    financial activities, 1,300; and
    •    accommodation and food services, 1,000.

The most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics put the nonseasonally adjusted U.S. unemployment rate at 5.3 percent in July and the Springfield metropolitan statistical area jobless rate at 5.2 percent in June, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.