Springfield metro unemployment rate decreases in December

The Springfield metropolitan statistical area had an unemployment rate decrease in December, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning.

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties – had a December jobless rate of 2.7%, which was down from 2.9% in November, according to a news release.

The state's metro areas, by December unemployment rate, are as follows:
• Columbia, 2.4%, down from 2.7% in November
• Jefferson City, 2.5%, down from 2.7%
• Springfield, 2.7%, down from 2.9%
• Cape Girardeau, 2.9%, down from 3.1%
• St. Joseph, 2.9%, down from 3%
• Joplin, 3.1%, down from 3.3%
• Kansas City, 3.2%, down from 3.3%
• St. Louis, 3.2%, down from 3.3%

Missouri's December unemployment rate was 3.2%, a decrease from 3.3% in November, according to the release. The BLS data is not seasonally adjusted.

Compared with a year prior, December's unemployment rates were higher in 266 of the 389 metro areas measured nationwide by the BLS, lower in 95 and unchanged in 28. The Springfield MSA's December 2023 unemployment rate was 2.6%.