Springfield metro posts Mo.’s second-lowest jobless rate

The July unemployment rate in the five-county Springfield metropolitan statistical area was flat at 4.4 percent, ranking it second among the eight metros in Missouri measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

No. 1 Columbia recorded a 3.9 percent rate, which also was unchanged from June. Springfield and Columbia were the only metros with no change; the rest increased compared with the prior month, according to a news release.

The Show-Me State’s metro-area July jobless rates, compared with June, are:
    •    Columbia, 3.9 percent, same;
    •    Springfield 4.4 percent, same;
    •    Jefferson City, 4.5 percent, up from 4.4 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 4.7 percent, up from 4.5 percent;
    •    Joplin, 5 percent, up from 4.8 percent;
    •    St. Louis, 5 percent, up from 4.9 percent;
    •    Kansas City, 5.1 percent, up from 4.5 percent; and
    •    Cape Girardeau, 5.4 percent, up from 5.3 percent.

Missouri’s unemployment rate increased to 5.2 percent in July from 4.9 percent in June, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Of the 387 metro areas measured by the BLS, 279 had lower unemployment rates in July compared with the same month in 2015, 87 had higher rates and 21 were unchanged.