Springfield metro unemployment rate rises

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area and Missouri’s seven other metro areas all had higher unemployment rates in December compared with November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate in the Springfield MSA ticked up two-tenths of a point to 3.5 percent in December. The MSA’s unemployment rate was third lowest among the eight in Missouri during December, according to a news release.

Missouri’s metro areas, ranked by December unemployment rate:
    •    Columbia, 2.7 percent, up from 2.6 percent in November;
    •    Jefferson City, 3.3 percent, up from 3 percent;
    •    Springfield, 3.5 percent, up from 3.3 percent;
    •    Joplin, 3.9 percent, up from 3.6 percent;
    •    Kansas City, 3.9 percent, up from 3.7 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 3.9 percent, up from 3.5 percent;
    •    St. Louis, 4 percent, up from 3.8 percent; and
    •    Cape Girardeau, 4.4 percent, up from 3.9 percent.

The Show-Me State’s overall unemployment rate increased to 4 percent in December from 3.7 percent in November. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same month in 2015, December unemployment rates were lower in 236 metro areas, higher in 111 and unchanged in 40, according to the release.