Job gains fail to offset state unemployment rate

Missouri added thousands of jobs in May, but they were not enough to make a dent in the state's unemployment rate.

The state Department of Economic Development recently released its May jobs report, which said Missouri's nonfarm payroll employment grew by 3,700 jobs. The state's unemployment rate for May was 6.6 percent.

That rate is unchanged from April, but still is a slight decline from March. It's also 0.1 percent lower than the state's May 2013 unemployment rate.

The most recent DED numbers for Cape Girardeau are for April. They show the area with a slightly higher unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.

The recent jobs report said the biggest employment gains were in administrative, support and waste management services, which grew by 3,300 jobs. Employment in leisure and hospitality grew by 2,500, and manufacturing saw an increase of 2,100.

Missouri also saw significant losses in construction, trade and transportation in April. The total decline among those sectors equaled more than 4,000 lost jobs.

In the Southeast Region, which stretches from the Bootheel north to Ste. Genevieve County and west to Iron County, the DED expects to see significant job increases over the next 16 years for veterinary technicians, brick masons and personal and home-care aides, according to its website.

Across the state, the civilian labor force of nearly 3 million declined by more than 600 people in May. The DED data show Cape Girardeau's labor force was at 47,225 in April, a decline of 180 people from the previous month.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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Cape Girardeau, Mo.