Missouri's unemployment rate rose slightly during August from the already low level for the month of July. The state's seasonally adjusted rate of 2.6% is 0.8-percentage points below the August 1999 rate of 3.4%. The national unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.1%. Of Missouri's neighboring states, only Iowa had a lower unemployment rate for August, at 2.2%
Unemployment levels continue to vary between counties, but not as widely as during the winter months. Counties with the highest levels of unemployment continue to be clustered in the Lower East central region of the State, though Linn County in North central Missouri posted the highest level at 7%. Stone and Taney Counties in the Branson region again saw seasonally low levels. Nodaway, Boone, and Adair Counties continued to lead the state, with levels of 0.9%, 1.2%, and 1.4%, respectively. Twelve counties in Missouri enjoyed unemployment levels below the 2% level in August, up from ten counties in July and eight in June. (County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.)
