For Immediate Release

Release Date: 10-14-09

JEFFERSON CITY– Missouri labor conditions stabilized somewhat in September, as the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from the August figure. The rate of job loss also slowed over the month, according to date released today by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).

The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for September was 9.5 percent, the same as in August. By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate for September was 9.8 percent. September marks the seventh straight month that Missouri’s unemployment rate was lower than the national unemployment rate. Not seasonally-adjusted, the rate decreased a tenth of a point to 9.3 percent in September. Unemployment has now remained in the 9.3-9.5 percent range for the past four months, after climbing sharply earlier in the year.

Nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 3,000 jobs, dipping to 2,709,000 in September, a decrease that was less than half the monthly average during the past year. Decreases were concentrated in two industries: durable goods manufacturing (-1,800) and accommodation and food services (-2,100). No other reported industry group had a large change in seasonally adjusted employment, with an approximately equal number of industries showing small gains and small losses.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in St. Louis in September but decreased in Kansas City, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, while other metropolitan areas were mostly unchanged. In each case, the seasonal adjustment process may have exaggerated the changes, which is not unusual in a transition month like September. Employment was up by 2,200 in St. Louis, with private educational services and local government showing substantial increases. In Kansas City, employment was down by 3,400. The most prominent change there was a larger-than-usual decrease in leisure and hospitality employment.

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