Springfield’s unemployment rate ticks down

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate improved in June, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The five-county area June jobless rate was 3.4 percent, down from 3.6 percent in May. The Springfield MSA ranked second among the eight metro areas in Missouri during the month, according to a news release.  

Missouri’s metro areas, in order of the June unemployment rates, are:
    •    Columbia, 2.9 percent, flat from May;
    •    Springfield, 3.4 percent, down from 3.6 percent;
    •    Jefferson City, 3.5 percent, up from 3.4 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent;
    •    Kansas City, 3.8 percent, down from 3.9 percent;
    •    Joplin, 3.9 percent, flat;
    •    St. Louis, 4 percent, flat; and
    •    Cape Girardeau, 4.3 percent, flat.

Missouri’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in June from 4.1 percent in May. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with the same month in 2016, June unemployment rates were lower in 336 of the 388 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 45 and unchanged in seven, according to the release.