Springfield's unemployment rate drops in December, latest data shows

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

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties – recorded a December unemployment rate of 2.9%, a decrease from 3.1% in November, according to a news release.

The state’s metro areas, by December unemployment rate, are as follows:
• Jefferson City, 2.5%, down from 2.7% in November
• Columbia, 2.6%, down from 2.9%
• Springfield, 2.9%, down from 3.1%
• Cape Girardeau, 3%, down from 3.1%
• Joplin, 3.1%, down from 3.2%
• St. Joseph, 3.1%, down from 3.3%
• Kansas City, 3.5%, down from 3.7%
• St. Louis, 3.5%, flat

Missouri's December unemployment rate was 3.3%, down from 3.5% in November. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year prior, December's unemployment rates were higher in 255 of the 387 metro areas measured nationwide by the BLS, lower in 110 and unchanged in 22. The Springfield MSA's December 2024 unemployment rate was 2.9%.