Unemployment rate drops in Springfield metro area

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate dropped in April, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties – posted a jobless rate last month of 2.9%, according to a news release. That's down from 3.3% in March.

All of the other metro areas statewide had decreases, as well.

The state’s metro areas, by April unemployment rate, are as follows:
• Columbia, 2.6%, down from 2.9% in March
• Jefferson City, 2.7%, down from 3.2%
• Springfield, 2.9%, down from 3.3%
• St. Joseph, 2.9%, down from 3.4%
• Kansas City, 3%, down from 3.5%
• Cape Girardeau, 3.1%, down from 3.5%
• Joplin, 3.3%, down from 3.8%
• St. Louis, 3.3%, down from 3.7%

Missouri's unemployment rate dropped to 3.2% in April from 3.7% in March, according to the release. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year prior, April's unemployment rates were higher in 305 of the 389 metro areas measured nationwide by the BLS, lower in 56 and unchanged in 28. The Springfield MSA's April 2023 unemployment rate was 2.2%.