Springfield metro unemployment rate drops below 5%

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in April after registering at 5.2 percent in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The April rate, however, is up a tenth of a point from the same month of 2014, according to a news release.

Compared to Missouri’s seven other MSAs, Springfield ranked third in unemployment rate. The April jobless rates by metro area:

• Columbia, 3.7 percent;
• Jefferson City, 4.6 percent;
• Springfield, 4.8 percent;
• Joplin, 4.9 percent;
• Cape Girardeau, 5 percent;
• St. Joseph, 5 percent;
• Kansas City, 5.2 percent; and
• St. Louis, 5.3 percent.

Missouri’s April unemployment rate, according to the BLS, was 5.5 percent. The national rate that month was 5.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the 387 MSAs measured by the BLS, 344 reported lower jobless rates in April than a year earlier, 36 were higher and seven were unchanged, according to the release.