Missouri jobless rate jumps slightly
The state’s non-farm payroll lost only 6,400 jobs last month, the Missouri Department of Economic Development reported Tuesday. From November through January the state averaged a monthly loss of 11,500 positions.
Even so, the department estimates that 250,000 Missourians were out of work in February. Over the past year, Kansas City (13,500 jobs lost) and St. Louis (31,500) have been hit the hardest.
The state said the bulk of the February job losses came in the business services and manufacturing sectors faxless payday loans. Construction, retail, health care and social assistance fared slightly better. Employers in private educational services, leisure, government and hospitality sectors were hiring.
— STEVE GIEGERICH