Mo. unemployment rate edges up

Missouri’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 5.5 percent in January, according to data released yesterday by the state Department of Economic Development.

During January, nonfarm payroll employers added 14,300 jobs, beating an increase of 4,400 jobs in December, according to a news release.

Show-Me State job growth in the first month of the year was led by a 5,100-job increase in the leisure and hospitality industry. Private educational services employers also increased employment by 1,300 positions.

The national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent data for the Springfield metropolitan statistical area put its jobless rate at 4.3 percent in December, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.