Springfield metro area unemployment rate drops by full percentage point

The unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area decreased by a full percentage point in April, according to the latest data published this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – posted a jobless rate that month of 1.9%, compared with 2.9% in March, according to a news release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

All eight of Missouri's MSAs recorded decreases in April compared with March.

They are:
• Columbia, 1.7%, down from 2.6% in March;
• Jefferson City, 1.9%, down from 2.8%;
• Springfield, 1.9%, down from 2.9%;
• St. Joseph, 2%, down from 3.2%;
• Cape Girardeau, 2.2%, down from 3.2%;
• Joplin, 2.2%, down from 3.2%;
• Kansas City, 2.4%, down from 3.3%; and
• St. Louis, 2.9%, down from 3.7%.

Missouri's April unemployment rate moved down to 2.4% compared with 3.6% in March, according to the release.

Compared with the same month of 2021, April unemployment rates were lower in 388 of the 389 nationwide metro areas measured by the BLS and lower in one. The Springfield MSA's April 2021 unemployment rate was 3.4%.