Springfield’s unemployment rate rises

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate moved up in March, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The March jobless rate was 3.3%, which was up from 3% in February for the MSA comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties, according to a news release.

Most of the seven other MSAs in Missouri followed suit, pushing the state’s unemployment rate up to 3.9% in March compared with 3.7% in February. BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Missouri’s MSAs, in order of March unemployment rates, are:

• Columbia, 2.8%, up from 2.6% in February;
• Springfield, 3.3%, up from 3%;
• Jefferson City, 3.3%, flat;
• Joplin, 3.5%, up from 3.1%;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.6%, up from 3.4%;
• Kansas City, 3.8%, up from 3.7%;
• St. Joseph, 3.8%, up from 3.6%; and
• St. Louis, 4%, up from 3.8%.

Compared with the same month in 2018, March unemployment rates were lower in 267 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 100 and unchanged in 22, according to the release.