May jobs report highlights:
Missouri non-farm payroll employment increased by 2,500 jobs in May
Missouri’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 3.3 percent.
To view the May 2019 jobs report, click here.
Economic indicators you need to know:
Job growth and record low unemployment fuel Missouri’s workforce
The number of jobs in the state continues to rise.
Missouri’s economy added 2,500 jobs this month.
Over the past year, employment has grown by 31,000 jobs.
Unemployment remained steady at near record lows.
Missouri’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent.
Out of the roughly 3 million individuals in Missouri’s civilian labor force, only an estimated 101,321 were unemployed in May.
Missouri continues to see over-the-year job gains across key industries.
Accommodation and Food Services (+10,400 jobs, up 4 percent)
Manufacturing (+7,600 jobs, up 2.8 percent)
Health Care and Social Assistance (+10,800 jobs, up 2.6 percent)
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+4,200 jobs, up 2.6 percent)
Missouri sees growth in annual average wages
Missouri has seen wage growth every year for the past four years.
Missouri’s annual average wage growth over time. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Missouri’s statewide annual average wage reached an all-time high of $49,050 in 2018, a 3.6 percent increase over 2017 and a 10.6 percent increase over 2014.
Several Missouri counties saw particularly high average wage increases in 2018:
Newton County, home to Neosho and metro Joplin (+13.7 percent)
St. Louis County (+5.2 percent) and St. Louis City (+4.2 percent)
Webster County, home to Marshfield and metro Springfield (+4.4 percent)
74 percent of Missouri’s 114 counties had an annual average wage increase of more than 2 percent in 2018. Only three counties have seen wage decreases since 2014.
St. Louis City and County each had an annual average wage of over $60,500 in 2018. Jackson County, home to Kansas City and Independence, reached an annual average wage of $56,500.
The figures above are drawn from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), a cooperative program between the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Missouri Department of Economic Development. A full breakdown of QCEW data can be found here.
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