Springfield follows rest of state with higher unemployment

Springfield and the rest of Missouri’s metropolitan statistical areas posted worse unemployment rates in January compared with December.

The five-county Springfield MSA’s jobless rate in January was 3.3 percent, up from 2.8 percent in December, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Missouri’s MSA unemployment rates in January are:
    •    Columbia, 2.9 percent, up from 2.2 percent in December;
    •    Joplin, 3.3 percent, up from 2.9 percent;
    •    Springfield, 3.3 percent, up from 2.8 percent;
    •    Jefferson City, 3.5 percent, up from 2.7 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 3.5 percent, up from 2.8 percent;
    •    Cape Girardeau, 3.9 percent, up from 3.3 percent;
    •    St. Louis, 3.9 percent, up from 3.4 percent; and
    •    Kansas City, 4 percent, up from 3.3 percent.

Missouri’s unemployment rate in January was 4.1 percent, up from a 3.3 percent rate in December. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same month in 2016, January unemployment rates nationwide were lower in 337 of the 388 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 39 and unchanged in 12, according to the release.