Springfield metro unemployment rate jumps

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s December unemployment rate rose along with all of the other most populated areas in Missouri, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The five-county area — comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties — recorded a 3.2% jobless rate in December, compared with 2.8% in November 2019, according to a news release.

Missouri’s MSAs, in order of December unemployment rates, are:
• Columbia, 2.4%, up from 2.2% in November;
• Jefferson City, 2.8%, up from 2.5%;
• St. Joseph, 3%, up from 2.6%;
• Kansas City, 3.1%, up from 2.8%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.2%, up from 3.1%;
• Joplin, 3.2%, up from 2.9%;
• Springfield, 3.2%, up from 2.8% and
• St. Louis, 3.3%, up from 3%.

Missouri’s December unemployment rate was 3.4%, an increase from 3% in November, according to the BLS data that’s not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same month of 2018, December 2019 unemployment rates were lower in 266 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 101 and unchanged in 22. The Springfield MSA’s unemployment rate was down slightly from 3.4% in December 2018, according to the release.