State unemployment rate edges up

The Missouri unemployment rate inched upward a tenth of a point to 6.8 percent in May.

Employers in the state added 4,600 jobs in May, led by a 3,600-job increase in the construction industry, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The DED pointed to expansion announcements by Missouri companies last month, including:

• Reinsurance Group of America Inc.'s plan to create 300 jobs and invest $140 million in Chesterfield;
• Ford Motor Co., which is adding a third shift, requiring 900 additional jobs in Kansas City; and
• Express Scripts, which is working to create 100 jobs and invest $960,000 in Joplin.

The U.S. unemployment rate registered at 7.6 percent last month. May represented the 45th consecutive month Missouri has had a lower jobless rate than the U.S. as a whole, the release said.

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