Call it a sign of the times.

The office that handles unemployment claims for the state of Missouri said Thursday that it will extend its hours, boost overtime and hire 35 “emergency temporary helpers” to cope with increased demand for its…

In Wednesday’s paper, we had a story about new unemployment figures showing the jobless rate in the St. Louis area at 6.9 percent.

That’s pretty high.

But today, we got new data that irons out the seasonal variations in that unemployment number. And…

America can expect several more dreary months of recession, says Commerce Bank bond guru Scott Colbert. 

 At best, the nation can expect to hit an economic bottom in June, July or August before beginning a slow recovery, Colbert said Tuesday at the…

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,…