January Jobs Report Shows Unemployment Rate Remains Low

      The Missouri Department of Economic Development released its January Jobs Report, indicating that while the unemployment rate increased slightly, the rate remains at record lows.
     Employment increased by 9,000 jobs in January while the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.5 percent over the month.
     The unemployment rate had reached a record low of 3.0 percent starting in July 2018, before edging up a tenth of a point in November 2018 and again in December 2018.
     The rate had remained at 3.2 percent through April 2019 before decreasing by a tenth of a point in May 2019. It then began a slow increase, reaching 3.4 percent in October 2019, where it remained for the remainder of 2019.