Missouri continues to have unemployment levels unseen for more than two decades.

The Department of Economic Development says 278-thousand Missourians were out of work in June, a further decrease of 74-hundred non-farm jobs from May. It’s a 9.3-percent jobless rate, the highest since October of 19-87. And those numbers are based on people eligible for unemployment benefits. Raw unemployment figures that include people who have exhausted their eligibility or who have just given up looking for work are significantly higher.

Department spokesman John Fougere says Missouri reflects some national trends. Missouri has been hit hard in manufacturing with 2500 lost jobs in June. He says the job losses in the St. Louis auto industry are well-known. He says the department is talking to auto manufacturers about getting them to build the new "green" cars here.

Employment dropped by 91-hundred in St.Louis, another 36-hundred in Kansas City. Those losses were offset by hiring outstate, especially in tourism areas–although those areas are still above usual rates.

Upload John Fopugere talking to BP: (2:27 mp3)