Unemployment claims

The number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits increased significantly in Southeast Missouri during the latter half of 2008. Most workers who lose their jobs are eligible for 26 weeks of regular benefits and 13 weeks of extended benefits as long as they participate in a job search. The figures below include first-time claims for both regular and extended benfits.

County July 2008 December 2008 Change

Bollinger 106 221 +114%

Butler 447 623 +39.4%

Cape Girardeau 386 783 +103%

Dunklin 288 516 +79%

Mississippi 84 218 +159%

New Madrid 281 489 +74%

Pemiscot 161 233 +44.7%

Perry 110 209 +90%

Scott 353 810 +129%

Stoddard 497 802 +61%

total 2,713 4,904 +80.7%

SOURCE: Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The rise in unemployment claims is also showing up in the overall unemployment rate in Southeast Missouri. Employment reports attempt to estimate the size of the workforce in an area and how many people are working or not working. The figures do not include long-term unemployed who have become discouraged and stopped looking for a job. Here are the combined labor force averages for 10 counties in Southeast Missouri:

Year labor force employed unemployed unemployment rate

2007 151,381 142,819 8,562 5.7%

2008 151,432 142,054 9,378 6.2%

Note: 2008 figures based on 11 months of data

SOURCE: Missouri Economic Research and Information Center