Springfield MSA jobless rate rises April to May

The May unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area rose from April but decreased from the same month of 2013.

At 5.1 percent, the May unemployment rate increased from 4.8 percent in April but decreased from 5.7 percent in May 2013, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release. The Springfield MSA comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties.

Springfield had the third-lowest unemployment rate in May among the eight Missouri MSAs measured by the BLS. The metro area jobless rates were:

• Columbia, 4.2 percent;
• St. Joseph, 5 percent;
• Springfield, 5.1 percent;
• Jefferson City, 5.2 percent;
• Joplin, 5.2 percent;
• Cape Girardeau-Jackson, 6.2 percent;
• Kansas City, 6.2 percent; and
• St. Louis, 6.5 percent.

Of the 372 metropolitan areas in the country measured by the BLS, 357 recorded lower unemployment rates in May compared to the same month in 2013, 11 posted increases and four were unchanged, according to the release.

In May, the Missouri unemployment rate was flat at 6.6 percent, while the U.S. rate was unchanged at 6.3 percent, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.[[In-content Ad]]