Unemployment rises slightly in November

Missouri labor market conditions weakened in November as unemployment rose 0.3 percent to 4.8 percent from 4.5 percent in October, according to a press release from the Missouri Department of Economic Development. However, Missouri's unemployment rate remains well below the nation's November unemployment rate of 6 percent, the report showed.

"While we are concerned that our unemployment rate climbed in November, it is significant to note that we are still well below the national rate by more than 1 percent," said Joseph Driskill, director of DED.

"But we are still struggling through a long-term downturn in our state's labor market," he added.

Nonfarm payrolls decreased by 9,800 jobs in November.

While the drop in employment is broad-based, the largest single industry hit was in eating and drinking places, where employment fell by 2,200 employees. The report stated that decrease may be partly due to higher-than-usual employment in October, including stadium food service operations.

The next largest drops were seen in construction, where employment continued to fall, and transportation and public utilities employment each sector lost 1,900 jobs. Meanwhile, manufacturing job losses were comparatively small, with a net drop of only 800 jobs spread through various industries.

Business service employment slipped by 900 jobs and state government lost another 800 jobs.

Some other industry groups including finance, insurance and real estate were fairly stable, the report said.