St. Louis unemployment rate hits 6.9%
The grim employment scene continued in October, when the St. Louis metro area’s unemployment rate hit 6.9 percent, according to new figures out today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s a sharp jump from the 5.3 percent rate in October, 2007, continuing a trend that’s been underway for much of the year. It also is an uptick from the region’s 6.8 percent rate in September, though those figures are not really comparable because they don’t take into account seasonal adjustments. In past years, however, the unemployment rate has typically fallen a bit from September to October.
In all, the region’s labor force - all those either working or seeking work - shrank to 1.43 million, a 14,200 drop from October of last year. That’s a sign that people are dropping out of the workforce entirely. Over the past year, the number of people looking for work who couldn’t find it lept by almost 22,000, to 98,400.
St. Louis continued to lead the national average, which was 6.1 percent in October. A new national figure for November is due out Friday.
To read the full report for metro areas across the country, click here.
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