State Unemployment Remains Below National Rates

Missouri’s unemployment rate for December was 3.5%.  The seasonally-adjusted rate is more is more than half a percent lower than the national rate.  That marks the 34^th consecutive month that the state’s rate has been below the national figure.  The private sector lost 300 jobs in December.  Over the last year construction jobs have decreased by 8800 while manufacturing jobs rose by 7200.  The largest growth sector was professional & business services, which added 13,000 jobs.