Show-Me State unemployment rate ticks up

The Show-Me State’s nonfarm payroll employment figure decreased by 7,500 jobs during March, leading to a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.6 percent. That’s up from 5.5 percent in February, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The health care and social assistance industry was one example of a decrease in the payroll figure. Employers in that sector eliminated 2,000 jobs last month, the DED reports. Partially offsetting the overall monthly drop were increases in food service, up by 1,500 jobs, and wholesale trade, up by 1,100.

For the 12-month period ended March 31, Missouri’s nonfarm payroll figure rose by 39,000 jobs. Last month’s unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points lower than the March 2014 rate, according to the release.

The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data put the Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s jobless rate at 5.2 percent in February and the U.S. rate at 5.5 percent in March, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.