Springfield metro area's unemployment rate drops in September

In line with its peers statewide, the Springfield metropolitan statistical area reported an unemployment rate drop in September, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The September jobless rate in the Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – was 2.3%, down from 2.9% in August, according to a news release.

The state’s metro areas, by September unemployment rate, are:
• Columbia, 2.1%, down from 2.7% in August.
• Jefferson City, 2.1%, down from 2.9%.
• Springfield, 2.3%, down from 2.9%.
• St. Joseph, 2.4%, down from 3.1%.
• Cape Girardeau, 2.5%, down from 3.3%.
• Joplin, 2.6%, down from 3.2%.
• Kansas City, 2.7%, down from 3.4%.
• St. Louis, 3.1%, down from 3.7%.

Missouri's unemployment rate was 2.6% in September, compared with 3.4% in August, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year earlier, September unemployment rates were higher in 231 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, lower in 131 and unchanged in 27, according to the release. The Springfield metro area's September 2022 unemployment rate was 1.7%.