State unemployment tops out at 7.3% in December

Missouri's unemployment rate continued its concerning climb to 7.3 percent last month, according to statistics released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That's the highest unemployment rate the Show-Me State has seen since April 1984, and it's two percentage points higher than in December 2007. In one month's time, Missouri's unemployment rate jumped 0.5 percent from 6.8 percent in November.

The December unemployment rate for the Springfield metropolitan statistical area hit 6 percent, up from 5.7 percent in November, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in December, according to the BLS.

Michigan and Rhode Island reported the highest jobless rates in December at 10.6 percent and 10 percent, respectively. South Carolina, California, Nevada and Oregon all reported unemployment rates of 9 percent or higher.

Wyoming posted the lowest unemployment rate at 3.4 percent, followed closely by North Dakota at 3.5 percent, according to the BLS.

U.S. employers enacted 2,275 mass layoffs - those involving 50 employees or more - in December, according to BLS statistics released today. The total number of employees affected by the mass layoffs was more than 226,000, with the manufacturing sector accounting for 871 mass layoffs last month.

Springfield's manufacturing industry was dealt back-to-back blows in early December when two out-of-state companies - Illinois-based ATC Technology Corp. and Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc. - announced plans to close local plants this year, resulting in more than 400 lost jobs.