Springfield metro area’s unemployment rate rises again

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate increased for the third consecutive month.

For the MSA comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties, the July jobless rate was 3%, which is up from 2.9% in June, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The local unemployment rate was 2.7% in May.

All eight Missouri metro areas recorded increases in unemployment rates in July compared with June. Springfield ranked No. 2 among the MSAs in terms of the lowest unemployment rates statewide.

Missouri’s MSAs, in order of July unemployment rates, are:
• Columbia, 2.9%, up from 2.7% in June;
• Springfield, 3%, up from 2.9%;
• Jefferson City, 3.2%, up from 3%;
• St. Joseph, 3.5%, up from 3.3%;
• St. Louis, 3.6%, up from 3.4%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.7%, up from 3.5%;
• Joplin, 3.7%, up from 3.4%; and
• Kansas City, 4%, up from 3.3%.

Compared with the same month of 2018, July unemployment rates were lower in 217 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 141 and unchanged in 31, according to the release. Springfield’s July unemployment rate was flat compared with the same month of 2018.