Missouri unemployment rate rises to 9.7 percent

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe downturn in the nation’s labor market in April 2020. In Missouri, seasonally adjusted employment decreased by 305,100 jobs over the month, and by 327,800 jobs over the year, the largest one-month and one-year decreases since the current data series began in 1990. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.7 percent over the month, more than doubling the previous month, and tripling over the year.

Missouri’s smoothed seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had its largest monthly and yearly increases ever in April 2020. The April 2020 rate of 9.7 percent was up by nearly six percentage points from the March 2020 rate of 3.9 percent and 6.5 percentage points from the April 2019 rate of 3.2 percent.

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