Labor market conditions in Missouri continue to improve. State Economic Development Department figures for September put the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 5.4 percent – down two-tenths of a point from August. Missouri continues to post numbers that are better than the national totals. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.1 percent. Payroll employment in Missouri increased by 18,300 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in September. This marks the fifth month in 2003 that employment has increased over the previous month’s employment.
