Springfield MSA unemployment rate rises in May

All eight Missouri metropolitan statistical areas posted a higher unemployment rate in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Springfield MSA’s jobless rate was 5.1 percent in May, compared to 4.8 percent in April. It was flat from May 2014, according to a news release.

During May, Springfield had the third-lowest rate among the eight MSAs in the Show-Me State. The May jobless rates, which aren’t seasonally adjusted, by metro area:

• Columbia, 4.1 percent;
• Jefferson City, 5 percent;
• Springfield, 5.1 percent;
• Joplin, 5.2 percent;
• Kansas City, 5.3 percent;
• St. Joseph, 5.3 percent;
• Cape Girardeau, 5.4 percent; and
• St. Louis, 5.5 percent.

Compared to the same month a year earlier, May unemployment rates were lower in 346 of the 387 metropolitan areas measured by the BLS, higher in 36 and unchanged in five, according to the release.

The BLS reports Missouri’s unemployment rate moved up two-tenths of a point to 5.7 percent in May, while the U.S. rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 5.5 percent, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.