JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s seasonally adjusted employment decreased in April 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 job loss is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a severe downturn in the nation’s labor market in April, according to the Department of Economic Development. 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 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.
Missouri’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was below the national rate, which was 14.7 percent in April 2020. The estimated number of unemployed Missourians was 292,690 in April 2020, up by 171,103 from March’s 109,616.
The state’s not-seasonally-adjusted rate was 9.8 percent in April 2020, up from 3.9 percent in March 2020. The corresponding national rate was 14.4 percent.
Under normal circumstances, an increase in the unadjusted rate from March to April would be highly unusual, but COVID-19 resulted in unprecedented economic fluctuations. The rapidly changing economic situation will likely continue to evolve and be reflected in next month’s jobs report. Click here to learn more.
