Springfield metro unemployment rate drops to 3%

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate decreased to 3% in April, according to data released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest jobless rate for the area was down from 3.6% in March, according to a news release. The five-county Springfield MSA comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties.

All eight Missouri metro areas measured by the BLS reported decreases in April unemployment rates.

The MSAs, ranked by their April unemployment rates, are:
• Columbia, 2.6%, down from 3% in March;
• Jefferson City, 2.7%, down from 3.2%;
• Springfield, 3%, down from 3.6%;
• St. Joseph, 3.1%, down from 3.7%;
• Joplin, 3.3%, down from 3.8%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.4%, down from 3.9%;
• Kansas City, 4.1%, down from 4.2%; and
• St. Louis, 4.4%, down from 4.7%.

Missouri's April unemployment rate dropped to 4% from 4.4% in March, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, compared with the same month a year earlier, April unemployment rates were lower in all of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS. The Springfield MSA's April 2020 unemployment rate was 11.5%.