Springfield unemployment rate unchanged

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate was flat in December, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During December, the local MSA comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties posted a 2.1% unemployment rate, according to a news release. That's the same figure from November, but down from the 3.9% Springfield MSA unemployment rate recorded in December 2020.

Statewide, it was more of a mixed bag among the eight metro areas measured by the BLS.

The MSA unemployment rates are:
• Columbia, 1.9%, flat from November;
• Jefferson City, 2%, up from 1.9%;
• Springfield, 2.1%, flat;
• St. Joseph, 2.2%, flat;
• Cape Girardeau, 2.4%, up from 2.3%;
• Joplin, 2.4%, up from 2.3%;
• Kansas City, 2.5%, down from 2.7%; and
• St. Louis, 3%, up from 2.9%.

Missouri's December unemployment rate moved up to 2.7% from 2.6% in November, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, compared with the same month a year earlier, December unemployment rates were lower in 375 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 13 and unchanged in one.