Springfield MSA jobless rate decreases in December

The December jobless rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area dropped a tenth of a point to 5.4 percent, down from 5.5 percent in November.

Last month's area unemployment rate was down considerably from 6.9 percent in December 2011, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Springfield MSA - comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Dallas and Polk counties - had the fifth-highest December unemployment rate among Missouri's eight metro areas:

• Columbia, 4.1 percent;
• Jefferson City, 5 percent;
• St. Joseph, 5.1 percent;
• Joplin, 5.3 percent;
• Springfield, 5.4 percent;
• Cape Girardeau-Jackson, 5.8 percent;
• Kansas City, 6.4 percent; and
• St. Louis, 7 percent.

The jobless rates compare to a December Missouri unemployment rate of 6.5 percent and a national rate of 7.6 percent. Last month, unemployment rates were lower in 290 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 68 and unchanged in 14, the release said.