Springfield MSA reports state’s second-lowest jobless rate

While the unemployment rate in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area was flat in July, it recorded the second-lowest jobless rate in Missouri for the month.

At 5.1 percent, the Springfield metro area was second only to Columbia, where the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a point to 4.3 percent in July compared to June, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

Missouri’s MSA unemployment rates, which aren’t seasonally adjusted, for July were:
    •    Columbia, 4.3 percent;
    •    Springfield, 5.1 percent;
    •    Jefferson City, 5.3 percent;
    •    Joplin, 5.3 percent;
    •    Kansas City, 5.5 percent;
    •    St. Joseph, 5.5 percent;
    •    St. Louis, 5.7 percent; and
    •    Cape Girardeau, 5.8 percent.

According to the BLS, 359 of the 387 metro areas in the U.S. experienced lower unemployment rates in July compared to a year earlier, while 20 were higher and eight were unchanged. The Springfield MSA’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.4 percent in July 2014, according to the release.

The latest data from the BLS puts the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Missouri at 5.9 percent in July, and the U.S. rate at 5.3 percent that month, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.