Missouri's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased in October to 4.5 percent from September's rate of 4.2 percent.
In October, employment in Missouri dropped by 17,000 jobs, for a single month decrease of 0.6 percent. While the manufacturing industry continued to lose jobs, the largest employment decrease was the temporary layoff of 4,000 jobs in the St. Louis automobile industry, which has since ended. Construction employment also lost 2,000 jobs. Over the past year, Missouri has lost 47,100 jobs, a decline of 1.7 percent.
The national unemployment rate increased to 5.4 percent in October. Five of Missouri's neighboring states had lower unemployment rates during the past month. These include Nebraska (3.0 percent), Iowa (3.4 percent), Oklahoma (3.7 percent), Kansas (4.0 percent), and Arkansas (4.3 percent).
Unemployment levels are not distributed evenly across Missouri, with pockets of high unemployment persisting in several areas (county-level rates are not seasonally adjusted). Counties with the highest unemployment levels are particularly pervasive in southeast and north central Missouri. Twenty-two counties had unemployment rates that were 6.0 percent or higher.
The highest unemployment rates were found in Linn (10.9 percent), Douglas (9.9 percent), Washington (9.1 percent), Wayne (8.5 percent), Bollinger (8.0 percent), Reynolds (7.6 percent), Pemiscot (7.5 percent), Madison (7.3 percent), Ripley (7.2 percent), St. Louis City (7.2 percent) and Wright (7.2 percent) counties.
Areas of low unemployment are spread throughout the state with the greatest concentration of low unemployment in October in northern Missouri counties. Twenty-five counties had unemployment rates below 3 percent.
The lowest unemployment rates were found in Nodaway (0.9 percent), Boone (1.6 percent), Schuyler (1.7 percent), Atchison (2.0 percent), Harrison (2.1 percent), Cole (2.2 percent), Platte (2.3 percent), and Clay (2.4 percent) counties.
Chart 1. Unemployment Rates, Seasonally
Adjusted, 1999-2000.
Source: Bureau of Labor
Statistics, US Department of Labor
