Springfield unemployment rate jumps

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate jumped in May, according to data released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate for the area was 3.5% last month, up from 3.1% in April, according to a news release. The five-county Springfield MSA comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties.

All of Missouri's eight metro areas posted unemployment rate increases in May:
• Columbia, 3.1%, up from 2.6% in April;
• Jefferson City, 3.2%, up from 2.7%;
• Springfield, 3.5%, up from 3.1%;
• St. Joseph, 3.6%, up from 3.1%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.8%, up from 3.5%;
• Joplin, 4%, up from 3.4%;
• St. Louis, 4.6%, up from 4.4%; and
• Kansas City, 5% up from 4.1%.

Missouri's unemployment rate in May rose to 4.7% from 4.1% in April, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, compared with the same month a year earlier, May unemployment rates were lower in all of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS. The Springfield MSA's May 2020 unemployment rate was 8.1%.