Springfield metro unemployment flat in December

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate was stagnant at 4.3 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The December rate in the five-county metro area - comprising Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties - was down from 4.7 percent in the same month of 2013, according to a news release.

The Springfield MSA is fourth on the list of eight metro areas measured by the BLS. December jobless rates in Missouri’s metro areas:

• Columbia, 3.3 percent;
• Joplin, 4.2 percent;
• St. Joseph, 4.2 percent;
• Springfield, 4.3 percent;
• Jefferson City, 4.4 percent;
• Cape Girardeau-Jackson, 4.8 percent;
• Kansas City, 5 percent; and
• St. Louis, 5.6 percent.

Of the 372 MSAs monitored by the BLS, 341 reported lower unemployment rates in December compared to a year earlier, 25 were higher and six were unchanged, according to the release.

According to the BLS, December’s jobless rate for Missouri was 5.3 percent, below the national rate of 5.6 percent. The figures aren’t seasonally adjusted.