Springfield’s unemployment rate ticks down

Last edited 10:01 a.m., April 4, 2019

The unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area dipped a tenth of a point in February, according to the latest data issued this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The February jobless rate of 3.1 percent was below the 3.2 percent figure recorded in January for the MSA comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties, according to a news release.

Mixed results in the state’s eight MSAs - along with results from the rest of the state - led to a Missouri average of 3.7 percent in February, down from 3.8 percent in January. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Missouri’s MSAs, in order of February unemployment rates, are:
• Columbia, 2.6 percent, down from 2.7 percent in January;
• Joplin, 3.1 percent, down from 3.2 percent;
• Springfield, 3.1 percent, down from 3.2 percent;
• Jefferson City, 3.3 percent, up from 3.1 percent;
• Cape Girardeau, 3.4 percent, flat;
• St. Joseph, 3.6 percent, up from 3.5 percent;
• Kansas City, 3.7 percent, down from 3.8 percent;
• St. Louis, 3.8 percent, down from 4 percent.

Compared with a year earlier, the Springfield MSA’s latest unemployment rate was down from 3.3 percent in February 2018, according to the release.

Nationwide, unemployment rates were lower in 283 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS, higher in 67 and unchanged in 39, compared with February 2018, according to the BLS.