Springfield MSA jobless rate falls by full percentage point

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent in April, more than a full percentage point from the recorded 6.1 percent rate in March.

Last month's unemployment rate in the Springfield MSA - which comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties - also was down from 5.3 percent in April 2013, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

All eight MSAs in Missouri recorded lower unemployment rates in April compared to March, and Springfield tied with the second-lowest jobless rate in the state. The metro area's unemployment rates in April were:

• Columbia, 4 percent;
• Springfield, 4.9 percent;
• St. Joseph, 4.9 percent;
• Jefferson City, 5 percent;
• Joplin, 5 percent;
• Kansas City, 5.6 percent;
• Cape Girardeau-Jackson, 5.9 percent; and
• St. Louis, 6.3 percent.

Compared to the same month a year earlier, 357 of the 372 metro areas measured by the BLS recorded lower unemployment rates in April, while 12 reported higher rates and three were flat, according to the release.

During April, the Show-Me State unemployment rate increased to 6.6 percent, rising above the national average of 6.3 percent.[[In-content Ad]]