Unemployment rate rises in Springfield metro area

Following suit with its Missouri peers, the Springfield metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate rose in January, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics.

The Springfield MSA – which comprises Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties – had a jobless rate of 2.4% in January, up from 1.9% in December, according to a news release. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

According to the BLS, Missouri's metro areas, by January unemployment rate, are:
• Columbia, 2.3%, up from 1.7% in December;
• Jefferson City, 2.3%, up from 1.8%;
• Springfield, 2.4%, up from 1.9%
• Joplin, 2.6%, up from 2.1%;
• St. Joseph, 2.6%, up from 2%;
• Cape Girardeau, 2.7%, up from 2.1%;
• Kansas City, 2.7%, up from 2.3%; and
• St. Louis, 3%, up from 2.4%.

Missouri's unemployment rate increased to 2.8% in January from 2.2% in December, according to the release.

Compared with a year earlier, January unemployment rates were lower in 297 of the 389 metro areas measured by the BLS nationwide, higher in 73 and unchanged in 19. The Springfield metro area's January 2022 unemployment rate was 2.8%.