Springfield metro area's unemployment rate increases

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate rose in October along with the state's other seven major metro areas, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning.

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – recorded a jobless rate of 2% in October, up from 1.6% in September, according to a news release. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Missouri's metro areas, by October unemployment rate, are:
• Columbia, 1.9%, up from 1.4% in September;
• Jefferson City, 2%, up from 1.5%;
• Springfield, 2%, up from 1.6%;
• St. Joseph, 2.2%, up from 1.7%;
• Cape Girardeau, 2.3%, up from 1.9%;
• Joplin, 2.3%, up from 1.7%;
• Kansas City, 2.7%, up from 2.2%; and
• St. Louis, 2.7%, up from 2.3%.

Missouri's unemployment rate in October was 2.4%, down from 1.8% in September, according to the release.

Compared with a year earlier, October unemployment rates were lower in 264 of the 389 metro areas nationwide measured by the BLS, higher in 94 and unchanged in 31. Springfield's October 2021 unemployment rate was 2.8%.