Unemployment rates continue to climb

Springfield's unemployment rate is up from last month and last year, but it remains below state and national averages.

The Springfield metropolitan area posted unemployment of 8.5 percent in August, up from 8.4 percent in July and 5.5 percent in August 2008, according to information released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The local unemployment level is below Missouri's 9.4 percent August rate and the national unemployment rate, which hit 9.6 percent in August.

Unemployment growth was also a topic of the Community Focus 2009 report released Wednesday at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

In that report, Drury University faculty member Cristina Gilstrap noted that local unemployment has roughly doubled from the 4 percent rate of 2007, while foreclosure numbers more than doubled in 2008, totaling 1,110 compared to 513 in 2007.

"Although we are blessed with a diverse economy in the Ozarks, we're not immune from the national experience," Gilstrap said in a news release.

The rise in the Springfield rate mirrors the rest of the country; BLS said all 372 metropolitan areas nationwide saw year-over-year growth in unemployment rates. The highest levels are in the primarily agricultural areas of El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., where August unemployment was at 28.7 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.

Nationally, 16 metro areas posted jobless rates of 15 percent or more; seven of those were in California, while four were in Michigan.