Missouri Unemployment Rate Stagnant in August

Missouri's smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady in August at 2.5 percent. The August 2022 rate was 1.6 percent lower than the August 2021 rate of 4.1 percent. The estimated number of unemployed Missourians was 76,134 in August 2022, down by 1,789 from July.

The national unemployment rate increased from 3.5 in July 2022 to 3.7 in August 2022. Missouri's unemployment rate has been at or below the national rate for the last five years.       

While the data is preliminary and subject to revision, the preliminary August 2022 unemployment rate of 2.5 percent is the lowest recorded seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Missouri since the data series began in 1976. This matches the previous low of 2.5 percent in July 2022.

There was a decrease of more than 4,100 in the civilian labor force, with both the number of employed and the number of unemployed down over the month.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story