Springfield MSA jobless rate dips to 6.1%

The unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area was 6.1 percent in February, down slightly from a revised January rate of 6.2 percent.

The February jobless rate registered a full percentage point lower than the same month in 2012, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Missouri, Springfield recorded the fifth lowest jobless rate in February among the state's eight metropolitan statistical areas:

• Columbia, 4.8 percent;
• Jefferson City, 5.8 percent;
• Joplin, 5.9 percent;
• St. Joseph, 5.9 percent;
• Springfield, 6.1 percent.
• Cape Girardeau-Jackson, 6.7 percent;
• Kansas City, 7.1 percent; and
• St. Louis, 8 percent.

The Missouri unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.4 percent in February, according to the BLS.

Among the 372 metropolitan areas measured by the BLS, 287 registered lower unemployment rates in February than a year before, 69 were higher and 16 were unchanged.