Springfield MSA jobless rate increases month-to-month

The unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area increased four-tenths of a point to 5.7 percent in October after registering at 5.3 percent in September.

The September jobless rate dropped a full percentage point from August in the Springfield MSA, which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Dallas and Polk counties.

Last month's unemployment rate decreased by one-and-a-half percentage points year-to-year; the October 2011 jobless rate was 7.2 percent, according to a Nov. 28 news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among the eight MSAs in Missouri, the October jobless rate in the Springfield metropolitan area was trumped by the Columbia MSA, at 4.6 percent, the Jefferson City MSA, at 5.3 percent, and the St. Joseph MSA, at 5.4 percent. The Joplin MSA's jobless rate tied with the Springfield area. The other MSAs recorded unemployment rates of:

• 6.2 percent, Cape Girardeau-Jackson;
• 6.2 percent, Kansas City; and
• 7.2 percent, St. Louis.

Of the 372 metropolitan areas in the country, 329 recorded lower unemployment rates than the same month in 2011. The jobless rate was higher in 37 areas and unchanged in six, according to the release.

Missouri's October unemployment rate held steady at 6.9 percent, and the U.S. jobless rate rose a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent.[[In-content Ad]]