Missouri’s unemployment rate held steady in August. The seasonally adjusted rate was 5.5 percent – the same as July – but three-tenths of a point lower than than the rate in August of 2003. The unadjusted rate was 5.7 percent, down a tenth of a point over the month and down two-tenths of a point over the year. Nationally, both rates stood at 5.4 percent in August. In Missouri, private sector employment was up by 1,100 jobs while manufacturing employment picked up by 4,100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis.
