Unemployment dips in Missouri, employment conditions improve slowly

Missouri's labor market continues to see modest improvements each month. According to new data released last week by the Missouri Dept. of Economic Development, the state's unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a point, from 9.3 percent in May to 9.1 percent in May.

Nationally the unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, down from 9.7 percent in May.

The lower unemployment rate in Missouri likely signifies two effects that may seem unlikely to be concurrent. First, some individuals are finding employment, evidenced by the gains of 3,600 jobs month-over-month. Second, a number of individuals receiving unemployment benefits for more than six months stopped looking for jobs.

While the effects of each of these two points are difficult to isolate with the sparse data provided by DED, we suspect individuals being dropped from the unemployment rolls played a more significant role over the last month in the substantial drop in unemployment.

Here are the latest trends according to DED:

Missouri’s labor market conditions continued to improve in June, according to data released today by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED). Missouri’s nonfarm payroll employment increased by 3,600 jobs during the month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, marking the fifth consecutive month of positive job growth in the state. Missouri’s net job growth since January 2010 now stands at 26,600, an average of 5,300 new jobs created each month.

The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 9.1 percent in June, the lowest rate in more than a year, down from 9.3 in May. The state’s not-seasonally adjusted rate increased by half a percentage point to 9.2, a standard practice in June each year as summer jobseekers enter the labor force. In comparison, the U.S. rates for June 2010 were 9.5 seasonally-adjusted and 9.6 not-seasonally-adjusted.

The private sector added 6,000 new jobs in June, with noteworthy growth occurring in construction (+1,100); durable goods manufacturing (+2,300, spread through a number of industries); and transportation, warehousing and utilities (+2,200). Increases came in spite of the loss of 3,300 federal government jobs in June, mostly temporary Census workers.

Most other industry groups saw comparatively small changes. The leisure and hospitality industry as a whole saw little change from May as its two major sectors went in opposite directions. Arts, entertainment and recreation saw an employment gain of 1,900, while accommodation and food services employment was down by 2,200.

Payroll employment in the state’s metropolitan areas decreased in some areas and increased in others. The reduction of temporary census workers played a substantial role in many areas, particularly in St. Louis (-2,600) and Kansas City (-2,600). On the plus side, Joplin (+1,000) led the way in gains, while most others were relatively unchanged.

Related Posts by Category: