Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development

Missouri non-farm payroll employment decreased in February 2021, probably the result of deteriorating weather conditions. However, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 11,600 jobs over the month, and over-the year job losses totaled 130,500. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in February 2021, down from 4.3 percent in January 2021. The labor market still showed substantial losses over the year, but may show improvement in the coming months as vaccines for COVID-19 become available.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point in February 2021, dropping to 4.2 percent from the benchmarked January 2021 rate of 4.3 percent. The corresponding national rate was 6.2 percent in February 2021, down from 6.3 percent in January 2021, up from 3.5 percent in February 2020. Due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the February 2021 rate for Missouri was 0.6 percentage points higher than the February 2020 rate. The rate had reached a low of 3.1 percent starting in July 2018, before gradually edging up to 3.5 percent by the end of 2019, and then to 3.7 percent in March 2020. The COVID-19 effect hit in April 2020, spiking the rate to 12.5 percent for that month. The rate decreased monthly for the rest of 2020, reaching 4.3 percent in January. Missouri’s unemployment rate remained below the national rate. 

The estimated number of unemployed Missourians was 128,934 in February 2021, down by 1,615 from January’s 130,549.

The state’s not-seasonally-adjusted rate was 5.0 percent in February 2021, also down by a tenth of a percentage point from the January 2021 not-seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.1 percent. The corresponding not-seasonally-adjusted national rate for February 2021 was 6.6 percent.  

A year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.6 percent, and the not-adjusted rate was 3.8 percent.

Read the full report at https://meric.mo.gov/missouri-monthly-jobs-report.

About the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development: The department works to empower Missourians with the skills and education needed for success. More information about MDHEWD can be found at https://dhewd.mo.gov or on Facebook and Twitter @MoDHEWD.