The number of Missourians filing unemployment insurance claims is on the decline. A report from the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Division of Employment Security shows that in April, the number of initial unemployment claims was just over 22,000 – a decrease of 12 percent from the 25,000 claims filed in April of 2005. Over the past twelve months, the number of initial jobless claims dropped 8 percent, from just under 424,000 to 389,000. The unemployment rate in April was 4.6 percent, slightly below the national average of 4.7 percent.
