MO's monthly unemployment rate improves slightly

Businesses in Missouri added 2,300 jobs to their payrolls in February, dropping the state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate slightly to 7.4 percent, according to the monthly jobs report by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 8.3 percent in February, according to a DED news release.

In the latest state report, officials revised January’s nonfarm payroll employment figures by another 700 new jobs to 21,800 additions. January’s job growth moved Missouri’s unemployment rate to below 7.5 percent, down from 8 percent in December.

The state’s unemployment rate has continued a downward trend since peaking at 9.7 percent in August 2009 and January 2010, according to the DED.