St Louis Headlines
Job Growth Contributes to Decline in Missouri’s Unemployment
By Source: Missouri Dept. of Economic Development
Sep 20, 2006, 13:01

Jefferson City, MO – Missouri employment figures showed that Missouri has created 54,800 new jobs over the past few years.

“Our efforts to strengthen our state’s economic climate are clearly having a positive and lasting impact,” Blunt said. “We will continue our commitment to attract the kind of high quality, high paying, family-supporting jobs that will keep our economy growing.”

The payroll employment figures for August show relatively large seasonally adjusted employment increases in construction (1,400), professional and business services (1,000) and government (5,300).

Over the past year nonfarm payrolls have grown by 21,100 jobs, or 0.8 percent.

Private service-providing industry employment has grown by 23,100 jobs, or 1.2 percent, over the year. Most industries in the service side of the economy have added jobs. Among the larger gains were those in retail trade (5,000); transportation and warehousing (2,400); insurance carriers (1,700); professional, scientific, and technical services (4,000); employment services (2,300); health care and social assistance (4,900); leisure and hospitality (2,600); and other services (1,100).

Since August 2005, construction employment has increased by 2,100 jobs (1.4 percent), while local governments (including public schools) have added 3,500 jobs.

The state’s unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis. It should be noted that monthly unemployment rate data tend to exhibit more irregularity than do the payroll employment figures, so a temporary increase is not necessarily indicative of deteriorating labor market conditions. Also, unemployment insurance claims in August were essentially the same as in July, suggesting a stable unemployment picture.

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