Springfield unemployment rate jumps in May

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate last month jumped compared with April.

The jobless rate in the Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – came to 2.6%, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up from 2.1% a month earlier.

All eight of the metropolitan areas in Missouri reported unemployment rate increases month over month.

Missouri's metro areas, by May unemployment rate, are:
• Columbia, 2.5%, up from 1.9% in April.
• Jefferson City, 2.5%, up from 2%.
• Springfield, 2.6%, up from 2.1%.
• St. Joseph, 2.7%, up from 2.3%.
• Cape Girardeau, 2.8%, up from 2.3%.
• Kansas City, 2.8%, up from 2.6%.
• Joplin, 3%, up from 2.4%.
• St. Louis 3%, up from 2.7%.

Missouri's unemployment rate in May jumped to 2.9% from 2.4% in April, according to the release. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year earlier, May unemployment rates were lower in 177 of the 389 MSAs nationwide measured by the BLS, higher in 158 and unchanged in 54. The Springfield metro area's May 2022 unemployment rate was 2%.