Springfield metro unemployment rate increases in May

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate was up in May, according to data released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties – had a jobless rate of 3.7% in May, which compares with 3.5% in April, according to a news release.

The state's metro areas, by May unemployment rate, are as follows:
• Jefferson City, 3.2%, up from 3.1% in April
• Columbia, 3.5%, up from 3.2%
• Cape Girardeau, 3.7%, up from 3.4%
• Springfield, 3.7%, up from 3.5%
• St. Louis, 3.7%, up from 3.6%
• Joplin, 3.8%, up from 3.7%
• Kansas City, 3.8%, flat
• St. Joseph, 4%, up from 3.7%

Missouri's unemployment rate in May was 3.9%, up from 3.8% in April. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year prior, May's unemployment rates were higher in 285 of the 387 metro areas measured nationwide by the BLS, lower in 84 and unchanged in 18. The Springfield MSA's May 2024 unemployment rate was 3.6%.