Department of Economic Development statistics show Missouri’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December decreased slightly, falling three-tenths of a point to 4.4 percent. However, employment losses continued despite signs of improvement in some industries. Construction employment was down by 5,800 jobs over the month. Much of the decrease was seasonal, but apparently not all, as seasonally adjusted employment decreased by 1,000. Business services, which has been the industry outside manufacturing hardest hit by the recession, experienced a slight gain of 2,000 jobs in December, on a seasonally adjusted basis.
