Springfield unemployment rate inches down

Like much of the state, the Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate dropped in August, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The August unemployment rate was 2.7% in the local MSA comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties, according to a news release. That's down from 2.8% in July.

All but one of Missouri's eight metro areas reported unemployment rate decreases in August.

The MSAs are:
• Columbia, 2.4%, down from 2.5% in July;
• Jefferson City, 2.5%, flat;
• Springfield, 2.7%, down from 2.8%;
• Joplin, 3%, down from 3.3%;
• St. Joseph, 3%, down from 3.2%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.2%, down from 3.4%;
• Kansas City, 3.8%, down from 4.4%; and
• St. Louis, 4.2%, down from 4.4%.

Missouri's unemployment rate in August was 3.5%, a drop from 3.9% in July, according to the release. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, compared with the same month a year earlier, August unemployment rates were lower in 385 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS. The Springfield MSA's August 2020 unemployment rate was 5%.